Socially transmitted gut microbiota protect bumble bees against an intestinal parasite

Koch, Hauke; Schmid‐Hempel, Paul

doi:10.1073/pnas.1110474108

Cited by 715 publications

(753 citation statements)

References 50 publications

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“…Defence levels and the associated immune responses are likely to be moderated by a variety of factors, including sex [43], nutrition [2,3,44] and the presence of a microbiota [45,46]. We found that poor nutrition condition-here, pollen deprivation-influences the expressed immune response in workers of B. terrestris to C. bombi at several levels.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 76%

Protein-poor diet reduces host-specific immune gene expression in Bombus terrestris

2014

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Parasites infect hosts non-randomly as genotypes of hosts vary in susceptibility to the same genotypes of parasites, but this specificity may be modulated by environmental factors such as nutrition. Nutrition plays an important role for any physiological investment. As immune responses are costly, resource limitation should negatively affect immunity through trade-offs with other physiological requirements. Consequently, nutritional limitation should diminish immune capacity in general, but does it also dampen differences among hosts? We investigated the effect of short-term pollen deprivation on the immune responses of our model host Bombus terrestris when infected with the highly prevalent natural parasite Crithidia bombi. Bumblebees deprived of pollen, their protein source, show reduced immune responses to infection. They failed to upregulate a number of genes, including antimicrobial peptides, in response to infection. In particular, they also showed less specific immune expression patterns across individuals and colonies. These findings provide evidence for how immune responses on the individual-level vary with important elements of the environment and illustrate how nutrition can functionally alter not only general resistance, but also alter the pattern of specific host-parasite interactions.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 76%

Protein-poor diet reduces host-specific immune gene expression in Bombus terrestris

2014

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“…Exposure to numerous alkaloid, terpenoid and phenolic compounds is lethal to Trypanosoma species, probably via interruption of protein synthesis, DNA intercalation, interaction with neurotransmitters or induction of programmed cell death [41,42]. Second, secondary metabolites could affect bee immune function, including by upregulating bee immune response [43], stimulating bees' endosymbiotic gut bacteria [44], causing physical or chemical changes to gut lining [45], or simply by inducing diuresis [17].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Secondary metabolites in floral nectar reduce parasite infections in bumblebees

et al. 2015

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The synthesis of secondary metabolites is a hallmark of plant defence against herbivores. These compounds may be detrimental to consumers, but can also protect herbivores against parasites. Floral nectar commonly contains secondary metabolites, but little is known about the impacts of nectar chemistry on pollinators, including bees. We hypothesized that nectar secondary metabolites could reduce bee parasite infection. We inoculated individual bumblebees with Crithidia bombi, an intestinal parasite, and tested effects of eight naturally occurring nectar chemicals on parasite population growth. Secondary metabolites strongly reduced parasite load, with significant effects of alkaloids, terpenoids and iridoid glycosides ranging from 61 to 81%. Using microcolonies, we also investigated costs and benefits of consuming anabasine, the compound with the strongest effect on parasites, in infected and uninfected bees. Anabasine increased time to egg laying, and Crithidia reduced bee survival. However, anabasine consumption did not mitigate the negative effects of Crithidia, and Crithidia infection did not alter anabasine consumption. Our novel results highlight that although secondary metabolites may not rescue survival in infected bees, they may play a vital role in mediating Crithidia transmission within and between colonies by reducing Crithidia infection intensities.

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“…In our study, we used a classification system of bacterial OTUs to separate core and non-core OTUs (Koch and Schmid-Hempel 2011a;Koch et al 2013;Cariveau et al 2014). We defined Neisseriaceae , Orbaceae , Lactobacillaceae , and Bifidobacteriaceae as core families for bumblebees in accordance with Kwong et al (2014) and Meeus et al (2015).…”

Section: Classification and Verification Of New Otusmentioning

confidence: 99%

Plasticity in the gut microbial community and uptake of Enterobacteriaceae (Gammaproteobacteria) in Bombus terrestris bumblebees’ nests when reared indoors and moved to an outdoor environment

et al. 2015

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-Bombus nests consisting of one queen, brood, and worker adults, are produced indoors for biological pollination in agriculture. In this study, we investigated the gut microbial community in workers of Bombus terrestris when the environment is stable (indoors) or variable (outdoors). When nests were reared indoors under standardized conditions, we identified a small gut microbial community consisting of Neisseriaceae , Orbaceae , Lactobacillaceae , and Bifidobacteriaceae , and the age of bumblebee nests and workers did not affect the alpha and beta diversity, confirming a stable microbiota. Secondly, when indoor-reared nests were moved to outdoors, we observed a major shift in the microbial community, especially in the newborn workers fully developed in the outdoor conditions, with a significant colonization of Enterobacteriaceae . Our new findings are discussed in relation to hostassociated core and non-core bacteria in bumblebees including possible implications for host functioning.Bombus terrestris / generalist pollinator / microbiota / plasticity / Enterobacteriaceae / reared bumblebees

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Socially transmitted gut microbiota protect bumble bees against an intestinal parasite

Cited by 715 publications

References 50 publications

Protein-poor diet reduces host-specific immune gene expression in Bombus terrestris

Protein-poor diet reduces host-specific immune gene expression in Bombus terrestris

Secondary metabolites in floral nectar reduce parasite infections in bumblebees

Plasticity in the gut microbial community and uptake of Enterobacteriaceae (Gammaproteobacteria) in Bombus terrestris bumblebees’ nests when reared indoors and moved to an outdoor environment

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