Genetic diversity of honeybee colonies predicts gut bacterial diversity of individual colony members.

ABSTRACT: The gut microbiota of social bees is relatively simple and dominated by a set of core taxa found consistently in individuals around the world. Yet, variation remains and can affect host health. We characterized individual- and regional-scale variation in honeybee (Apis mellifera) gut microbiota from 64 colonies in North-West England by sequencing the V4 region of the 16S rRNA gene and asked whether microbiota were influenced by host genotype and landscape composition. We also characterized the genotypes of individual bees and the land cover surrounding each colony. The literature-defined core taxa dominated across the region despite the varied environments. However, there was variation in the relative abundance of core taxa, and colony membership explained much of this variation. Individua

SUBMITTER: Bridson C 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10087737 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature