Honey bees maintain their microbiome during overwintering storage

Monday, November 11, 2024

8:12 AM – 8:24 AM MST

Location: Phoenix Convention Center, 126 B, PCC

Presenting Author(s)

Gagandeep Brar

Scientist
Bayer Crop Science
Martin, Tennessee

Co-Author(s)

Lyna Ngor (she/her/hers)

PhD Student
University of California
Lake Elsinore, California
QM

Quinn McFrederick

Assistant Professor
University of California
Riverside, California
Alex S. Torson

Research Computational Biologist
North Dakota State University
Fargo, North Dakota
AR

Arun Rajamohan

USDA-ARS
Fargo, North Dakota
PS

Preetpal Singh

University of Toronto
Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, Canada
Joseph P. Rinehart

Research Biologist
USDA-ARS
Fargo, North Dakota
Julia Bowsher

Associate Professor
North Dakota State University
Fargo, North Dakota

Honey bee gut microbiota play a number of specific roles in promoting host growth and physiology. While the gut microbiota of honey bee queens, workers, and larvae has been extensively studied, less is known about the gut microbiota of winter worker bees. This study investigates the dynamics of the gut microbiota in overwintering adult worker bees, focusing on two commercial bee strains: Bolton™ bees and Mann Lake™ bees. The strains were investigated under different storage conditions (indoor storage at 6°C and outdoor storage in natural conditions) during the winter months (October, November, and December). Utilizing 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing, we identified the microbial composition of the gut. We observed a 1stable microbiota with slight variations in host-associated bacterial communities with Lactobacillus genus dominating in all the overwintering honey bee guts. Bolton bees exhibited higher abundance levels of Bartonella, Bifidobacterium, and Wolbachia, while Mann Lake bees showed increased abundance of Commensalibacter. Our results suggest that alpha diversity is influenced by the month rather than by the bee strain or storage conditions. We also found significant differences in beta diversity by month. Overall, in this study a stable gut microbiota was observed in both indoor and outdoor environmental conditions across different months with slight differences in abundance between bee strains. Considering all potential benefits of the honey bee gut microbiome to health and nutrition, this study suggests that beekeepers need not be concerned about whether overwintering storage conditions affect the gut microbiome.