Why bees are critical for achieving sustainable development

Patel, Vidushi; Pauli, Natasha; Biggs, Eloise M.; Barbour, L.; Boruff, Bryan

doi:10.1007/s13280-020-01333-9

Cited by 129 publications

(110 citation statements)

References 87 publications

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“…Adult honeybees harbour a specialized gut microbiota of relatively low complexity with diet as a major factor influencing differences in bacterial loads [ 4 ]. Although honeybee microbiome core species composition is quite consistent regardless of environmental, geographical and genetic differences between specimens [ 2 ], some studies indicate that it can be sensitive to infection, changes in diet, malnutrition and many anthropogenic activities, such as extensive pesticide use and urban land-use changes [ 5 , 6 , 7 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Amplicon Sequencing of Variable 16S rRNA from Bacteria and ITS2 Regions from Fungi and Plants, Reveals Honeybee Susceptibility to Diseases Results from Their Forage Availability under Anthropogenic Landscapes

et al. 2021

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European Apis mellifera and Asian Apis cerana honeybees are essential crop pollinators. Microbiome studies can provide complex information on health and fitness of these insects in relation to environmental changes, and plant availability. Amplicon sequencing of variable regions of the 16S rRNA from bacteria and the internally transcribed spacer (ITS) regions from fungi and plants allow identification of the metabiome. These methods provide a tool for monitoring otherwise uncultured microbes isolated from the gut of the honeybees. They also help monitor the composition of the gut fungi and, intriguingly, pollen collected by the insect. Here, we present data from amplicon sequencing of the 16S rRNA from bacteria and ITS2 regions from fungi and plants derived from honeybees collected at various time points from anthropogenic landscapes such as urban areas in Poland, UK, Spain, Greece, and Thailand. We have analysed microbial content of honeybee intestine as well as fungi and pollens. Furthermore, isolated DNA was used as the template for screening pathogens: Nosema apis, N. ceranae, N. bombi, tracheal mite (Acarapis woodi), any organism in the parasitic order Trypanosomatida, including Crithidia spp. (i.e., Crithidia mellificae), neogregarines including Mattesia and Apicystis spp. (i.e., Apicistis bombi). We conclude that differences between samples were mainly influenced by the bacteria, plant pollen and fungi, respectively. Moreover, honeybees feeding on a sugar based diet were more prone to fungal pathogens (Nosema ceranae) and neogregarines. In most samples Nosema sp. and neogregarines parasitized the host bee at the same time. A higher load of fungi, and bacteria groups such as Firmicutes (Lactobacillus); γ-proteobacteria, Neisseriaceae, and other unidentified bacteria was observed for Nosema ceranae and neogregarine infected honeybees. Healthy honeybees had a higher load of plant pollen, and bacteria groups such as: γ-proteobacteria, Orbales, Gilliamella, Snodgrassella, γ-proteobacteria and Enterobacteriaceae. Finally, the period when honeybees switch to the winter generation (longer-lived forager honeybees) is the most sensitive to diet perturbations, and hence pathogen attack, for the whole beekeeping season. It is possible that evolutionary adaptation of bees fails to benefit them in the modern anthropomorphised environment.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Amplicon Sequencing of Variable 16S rRNA from Bacteria and ITS2 Regions from Fungi and Plants, Reveals Honeybee Susceptibility to Diseases Results from Their Forage Availability under Anthropogenic Landscapes

et al. 2021

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“…Honey bees are important pollinators with high economic value and importance considering the ecosystem [1][2][3] . Their economic significance is based on their role in crop pollination and the different bee products they make 2,3 . Honey, their most well-known product, is an important component of human nutrition.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Natural diversity of honey bee (Apis mellifera) gut bacteriome in various climatic and seasonal states

Papp

Békési

Farkas

et al. 2021

Preprint

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As pollinators and producers of numerous human consumed products, honey bees have great ecological, economic and health importance. The composition of their bacteriota, for which the available knowledge is limited, is essential for their body's functioning. Based on our survey we performed a metagenomic analysis of samples collected by repeated sampling from representative geolocations regarding the study area's climatic types over two nutritionally extreme periods (March and May) of the collection season. In bacteriome composition, significant (p=0.002) difference was found between the samples from March and May. The samples' bacteriome from March showed a significant (p=0.02) composition difference between the cooler and the warmer regions. In samples of May, there were no significant bacteriome composition differences among the climatic classes. Based on our results, one may conclude that the composition of healthy core bacteriome in honey bees varies depending on the climatic and seasonal conditions. This is probably since climatic characteristics, and the vegetation states determine the availability and nutrient content of flowering plants. Our study results prove that to gain a thorough understanding of a microbiome's natural diversity, we need to obtain the necessary information from extreme ranges within the host's healthy state.

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“…Adult honeybees harbor a specialized gut microbiota of relatively low complexity with diet as a major factor to differences in bacterial loads [4]. Although honeybee microbiome core species is quite consistent regardless of environmental, geographical and genetic differences between specimens [2], some studies indicated that it can be sensitive to infections, changes in diet, malnutrition and many anthropogenic activities, as extensive pesticide use and urban land-use changes [5][6][7].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Amplicon sequencing of variable 16S rRNA and ITS2 regions reveal honeybee susceptibility to diseases resulted of their dietary preferences under anthropogenic landforms

Ptaszyńska

Latoch

Hurd

et al. 2021

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

European Apis mellifera and Asian Apis cerana honeybees, are essential crop pollinators. Microbiome studies can provide complex information on health and fitness of these insects in relation to environmental changes, and plant availability. Amplicon sequencing of variable regions of 16S rRNA and internally transcribed spacers (ITSs) allow identification of the metabiome. These methods provide a tool for monitoring otherwise uncultured microbes isolated from the gut of the honeybees. They also help monitor the composition of the gut fungi and, intriguingly, pollens collected by the insect. Here, we present data from amplicon sequencing of the 16S rRNA and ITS2 regions from honeybees collected at various time points from anthropogenic landforms as urban areas in Poland, UK, Spain, Greece, and Thailand. We have analysed microbial composition of honeybee intestine as well as fungi and pollens. We conclude that differences between samples were mainly influenced by the bacteria, plant pollens and fungi, respectively. Moreover, honeybees feeding on a honeydew diet, mainly based on sugars, were more prone to fungal pathogens (Nosema ceranae) and neogregarines. Finally, the period when honeybees switch to the winter generation (longer-lived forager honeybees) is the most sensitive to diet perturbations and hence pathogens attack, for the whole beekeeping season. It is possible that evolutionary adaptation of bees fails to benefit them in the modern anthropomorphised environment.

show abstract

Why bees are critical for achieving sustainable development

Cited by 129 publications

References 87 publications

Amplicon Sequencing of Variable 16S rRNA from Bacteria and ITS2 Regions from Fungi and Plants, Reveals Honeybee Susceptibility to Diseases Results from Their Forage Availability under Anthropogenic Landscapes

Amplicon Sequencing of Variable 16S rRNA from Bacteria and ITS2 Regions from Fungi and Plants, Reveals Honeybee Susceptibility to Diseases Results from Their Forage Availability under Anthropogenic Landscapes

Natural diversity of honey bee (Apis mellifera) gut bacteriome in various climatic and seasonal states

Amplicon sequencing of variable 16S rRNA and ITS2 regions reveal honeybee susceptibility to diseases resulted of their dietary preferences under anthropogenic landforms

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