The microbiome and gene expression of honey bee workers are affected by a diet containing pollen substitutes.

ABSTRACT: Pollen is the primary source of dietary protein for honey bees. It also includes complex polysaccharides in its outer coat, which are largely indigestible by bees but can be metabolized by bacterial species within the gut microbiota. During periods of reduced availability of floral pollen, supplemental protein sources are frequently provided to managed honey bee colonies. The crude proteins in these supplemental feeds are typically byproducts from food manufacturing processes and are rarely derived from pollen. Our experiments on the impact of different diets showed that a simplified pollen-free diet formulated to resemble the macronutrient profile of a monofloral pollen source resulted in larger microbial communities with reduced diversity, reduced evenness, and reduced levels of potentia

SUBMITTER: Powell JE 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10198554 | biostudies-literature | 2023

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature