Xylocopa caerulea and Xylocopa auripennis harbor a homologous gut microbiome related to that of eusocial bees.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Eusocial bees, such as bumblebees and honey bees, harbor host-specific gut microbiota through their social behaviors. Conversely, the gut microbiota of solitary bees is erratic owing to their lack of eusocial activities. Carpenter bees (genus Xylocopa) are long-lived bees that do not exhibit advanced eusociality like honey bees. However, they often compete for nests to reproduce. Xylocopa caerulea and Xylocopa auripennis are important pollinators of wild plants on Hainan Island. Whether they have host-specific bacteria in their guts similar to eusocial bees remains unknown.

Methods

We targeted the bacterial 16S rRNA V3-V4 region to investigate the diversity of bacterial symbionts in the fore-midgut and hindgut of two carpenter bees, X. caer

SUBMITTER: Gu Y 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10229870 | biostudies-literature | 2023

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature