Host identity, more than elevation, shapes bee microbiomes along a tropical elevation gradient.

ABSTRACT: Understanding how host-microbiome interactions respond to abiotic and biotic factors is key to elucidating the mechanisms influencing ecological communities under current climate change scenarios. Despite increasing evidence that gut microbial communities associated with bees influence their health and fitness, including key roles in nutrient assimilation, toxin removal, defense against pathogens, and immune responses, the distribution of gut microbial communities and the dynamics of these associations along environmental gradients remain poorly understood. In this study, we assessed how environmental changes with elevation and host taxonomic identity influence the bacterial gut microbiome of wild bees collected along a 3,600 m elevation gradient in the Peruvian Andes. We applied DNA metab

SUBMITTER: Pinos A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12488565 | biostudies-literature | 2025

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature