Bumble bee microbiota shows temporal succession and increase of lactic acid bacteria when exposed to outdoor environments.

ABSTRACT:

Question

The large earth bumble bee (Bombus terrestris) maintains a social core gut-microbiota, similar as known from the honey bee, which plays an important role for host health and resistance. Experiments under laboratory conditions with commercial hives are limited to vertically transmitted microbes and neglect influences of environmental factors or external acquisition of microbes. Various environmental and landscape-level factors may have an impact on the gut-microbiota of pollinating insects, with consequences for pollinator health and fitness in agroecosystems. Still, it is not fully clear whether access to different flower diversities will have a significant influence on the bumble bee microbiota. Here, we tested in a semi-field experiment if the bumble bee microbiot

SUBMITTER: Weinhold A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10945022 | biostudies-literature | 2024

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature