Intensity of Nosema ceranae infection is associated with specific honey bee gut bacteria and weakly associated with gut microbiome structure.

ABSTRACT: The honey bee, Apis mellifera, pollinates a wide variety of essential crops in numerous ecosystems around the world but faces many modern challenges. Among these, the microsporidian pathogen Nosema ceranae is one of the primary detriments to honey bee health. Nosema infects the honey bee gut, which harbors a highly specific, coevolved microbiota heavily involved in bee immune function and nutrition. Here, we extend previous work investigating interactions between the honey bee gut microbiome and N. ceranae by studying experimentally infected bees that were returned to their colonies and sampled 5, 10, and 21 days post-infection. We measured Nosema load with quantitative PCR and characterized microbiota with 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing. We found significant colony level variation in i

SUBMITTER: Rubanov A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6405881 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature