Genomic Signatures of Honey Bee Association in an Acetic Acid Symbiont.

ABSTRACT: Recent declines in the health of the honey bee have startled researchers and lay people alike as honey bees are agriculture's most important pollinator. Honey bees are important pollinators of many major crops and add billions of dollars annually to the US economy through their services. One factor that may influence colony health is the microbial community. Indeed, the honey bee worker digestive tract harbors a characteristic community of bee-specific microbes, and the composition of this community is known to impact honey bee health. However, the honey bee is a superorganism, a colony of eusocial insects with overlapping generations where nestmates cooperate, building a hive, gathering and storing food, and raising brood. In contrast to what is known regarding the honey bee worker gut mi

SUBMITTER: Smith EA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7664317 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature