Pollen products collected from honey bee hives experiencing minor stress have altered fungal communities and reduced antimicrobial properties.

ABSTRACT: Fungi are increasingly recognized to play diverse roles within honey bee hives, acting as pathogens, mutualists, and commensals. Pollen products, essential for hive nutrition, host significant fungal communities with potential protective and nutritional benefits. In this study, we profile the fungal communities and antifungal properties of three pollen products from healthy and stressed hives: fresh pollen collected by forager bees from local plants; stored pollen packed into the comb inside the hive; and bee bread, which is stored pollen following anaerobic fermentation used for bee and larval nutrition. Using amplicon sequencing, we found significant differences in fungal community composition, with hive health and sample type accounting for 8.8% and 19.3% of variation in beta diversity,

SUBMITTER: Fernandes KE 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11210501 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature