Seasonally increasing parasite load is associated with microbiome dysbiosis in wild bumblebees.

ABSTRACT: The microbiome is increasingly recognized for its complex relationship with host fitness. Bumblebees are host to a characteristic gut microbiome community that is derived and reinforced through social contact between individuals. The bumblebee microbiome is species-poor, and primarily composed from a small number of core taxa that are associated with the greater tribe of corbiculate bees. Experimental findings support a role for the core bumblebee microbiome in resistance to severe infections by a common trypanosomal parasite, Crithidia bombi. However, most studies have been small in scale, often considering just one or two bumblebee species, or making use of commercially-reared bees. To better understand the microbiome diversity of wild populations, we have deeply sampled field pop

SUBMITTER: Young MG 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10705496 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature