Solitary Bees Host More Bacteria and Fungi on Their Cuticle than Social Bees
Bees come into contact with bacteria and fungi from flowering plants during their foraging trips. The Western honeybee (<i>Apis mellifera</i>) shows a pronounced hygienic behavior with social interactions, while the solitary red mason bee (<i>Osmia bicornis</i>) lacks a socia...
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| Format: | Article |
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MDPI AG
2023-11-01
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| Series: | Microorganisms |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2607/11/11/2780 |
| _version_ | 1797458319333392384 |
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| author | Markus Thamm Fabienne Reiß Leon Sohl Martin Gabel Matthias Noll Ricarda Scheiner |
| author_facet | Markus Thamm Fabienne Reiß Leon Sohl Martin Gabel Matthias Noll Ricarda Scheiner |
| author_sort | Markus Thamm |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Bees come into contact with bacteria and fungi from flowering plants during their foraging trips. The Western honeybee (<i>Apis mellifera</i>) shows a pronounced hygienic behavior with social interactions, while the solitary red mason bee (<i>Osmia bicornis</i>) lacks a social immune system. Since both visit the same floral resources, it is intriguing to speculate that the body surface of a solitary bee should harbor a more complex microbiome than that of the social honeybee. We compared the cuticular microbiomes of <i>A. mellifera</i> (including three European subspecies) and <i>O. bicornis</i> for the first time by bacterial 16S rRNA and fungal ITS gene-based high-throughput amplicon sequencing. The cuticular microbiome of the solitary <i>O. bicornis</i> was significantly more complex than that of the social <i>A. mellifera</i>. The microbiome composition of <i>A. mellifera</i> subspecies was very similar. However, we counted significantly different numbers of fungi and a higher diversity in the honeybee subspecies adapted to warmer climates. Our results suggest that the cuticular microbiome of bees is strongly affected by visited plants, lifestyle and adaptation to temperature, which have important implications for the maintenance of the health of bees under conditions of global change. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T16:35:23Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-8bd255974e4a4c96b1708fbca902140f |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2076-2607 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T16:35:23Z |
| publishDate | 2023-11-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Microorganisms |
| spelling | doaj.art-8bd255974e4a4c96b1708fbca902140f2023-11-24T14:57:14ZengMDPI AGMicroorganisms2076-26072023-11-011111278010.3390/microorganisms11112780Solitary Bees Host More Bacteria and Fungi on Their Cuticle than Social BeesMarkus Thamm0Fabienne Reiß1Leon Sohl2Martin Gabel3Matthias Noll4Ricarda Scheiner5Behavioral Physiology and Sociobiology, Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg, 97070 Würzburg, GermanyInstitute of Bioanalysis, Coburg University of Applied Sciences and Arts, 96450 Coburg, GermanyInstitute of Bioanalysis, Coburg University of Applied Sciences and Arts, 96450 Coburg, GermanyBehavioral Physiology and Sociobiology, Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg, 97070 Würzburg, GermanyInstitute of Bioanalysis, Coburg University of Applied Sciences and Arts, 96450 Coburg, GermanyBehavioral Physiology and Sociobiology, Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg, 97070 Würzburg, GermanyBees come into contact with bacteria and fungi from flowering plants during their foraging trips. The Western honeybee (<i>Apis mellifera</i>) shows a pronounced hygienic behavior with social interactions, while the solitary red mason bee (<i>Osmia bicornis</i>) lacks a social immune system. Since both visit the same floral resources, it is intriguing to speculate that the body surface of a solitary bee should harbor a more complex microbiome than that of the social honeybee. We compared the cuticular microbiomes of <i>A. mellifera</i> (including three European subspecies) and <i>O. bicornis</i> for the first time by bacterial 16S rRNA and fungal ITS gene-based high-throughput amplicon sequencing. The cuticular microbiome of the solitary <i>O. bicornis</i> was significantly more complex than that of the social <i>A. mellifera</i>. The microbiome composition of <i>A. mellifera</i> subspecies was very similar. However, we counted significantly different numbers of fungi and a higher diversity in the honeybee subspecies adapted to warmer climates. Our results suggest that the cuticular microbiome of bees is strongly affected by visited plants, lifestyle and adaptation to temperature, which have important implications for the maintenance of the health of bees under conditions of global change.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2607/11/11/2780honeybeered mason beecuticular microbiome |
| spellingShingle | Markus Thamm Fabienne Reiß Leon Sohl Martin Gabel Matthias Noll Ricarda Scheiner Solitary Bees Host More Bacteria and Fungi on Their Cuticle than Social Bees Microorganisms honeybee red mason bee cuticular microbiome |
| title | Solitary Bees Host More Bacteria and Fungi on Their Cuticle than Social Bees |
| title_full | Solitary Bees Host More Bacteria and Fungi on Their Cuticle than Social Bees |
| title_fullStr | Solitary Bees Host More Bacteria and Fungi on Their Cuticle than Social Bees |
| title_full_unstemmed | Solitary Bees Host More Bacteria and Fungi on Their Cuticle than Social Bees |
| title_short | Solitary Bees Host More Bacteria and Fungi on Their Cuticle than Social Bees |
| title_sort | solitary bees host more bacteria and fungi on their cuticle than social bees |
| topic | honeybee red mason bee cuticular microbiome |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2607/11/11/2780 |
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