Abstract
Lactic acid bacteria could positively affect the health of honey bees, including nutritional supplementation, immune system development and pathogen colonization resistance. Based on these considerations the present study evaluated predominant Lactic Acid Bacteria (LAB) species from beebread as well as from the social stomach and midgut of Apis mellifera ligustica honey bee foragers. In detail, for each compartment, the diversity in species and biotypes was ascertained through multiple culture-dependent approaches, consisting of Polymerase Chain Reaction-Denaturing Gradient Gel Electrophoresis (PCR-DGGE), 16S rRNA gene sequencing and Randomly Amplified Polymorphic DNA-Polymerase Chain Reaction (RAPD-PCR). The study of a lactic acid bacteria community, performed with PCR-DGGE and sequence analysis targeting the V1–V3 region of the 16S rRNA gene (rDNA), highlighted the presence of a few species, including Apilactobacillus kunkeei, Lactiplantibacillus plantarum, Fructobacillus fructosus, Levilactobacillus brevis and Lactobacillus delbrueckii subsp. lactis. Depending on the different compartments, diverse levels of biodiversity in species were found. Particularly, a very low inter-species biodiversity was detected in the midgut that was prevalently dominated by the presence of Apilactobacillus kunkeei. On the other hand, the beebread was characterized by a reasonable biodiversity showing the presence of five species and the predominance of Apilactobacillus kunkeei, Lactiplantibacillus plantarum and Fructobacillus fructosus. The RAPD-PCR analysis performed on the three predominant species allowed the differentiation into several biotypes for each species. Moreover, a relationship between biotypes and compartments has been detected and each biotype was able to express a specific biochemical profile. The biotypes that populated the social stomach and midgut were able to metabolize sugars considered toxic for bees while those isolated from beebread could contribute to release useful compounds with functional properties. Based on this knowledge, new biotechnological approaches could be developed to improve the health of honey bees and the quality of bee products.
Highlights
The gut microbial composition of honey bees (Apis mellifera) is simple, unique and highly specialized; the dominant bacterial phyla belong to the Proteobacteria, Actinobacteria, Bacteroidetes and Firmicutes [1,2]
SnpeehciuesnDdrivedersaintyd(sSipxetcyi-ensiIndeenistoifliacatetisonb)ased on Gram staining, a catalase test and morphological analysOisnewheurendprreedsuamndpstivxteyly-nidnenistoifilaetdesabsaLsAedBo. nThGerasmpesctiaeisn-ilnevg,eal tcaaxtaolnaosemtiecstpalancdemoernpthwolaosgpicearlformed thaonualgyhsitsawDeGreGEp-rPesCuRmapntiavleylsyisi.dentified as Lactic Acid Bacteria (LAB)
The results showed that this biotype, detected in beebread and honey stomach and in midgut, was characterized by the most complex biochemical profile
Summary
The gut microbial composition of honey bees (Apis mellifera) is simple, unique and highly specialized; the dominant bacterial phyla belong to the Proteobacteria, Actinobacteria, Bacteroidetes and Firmicutes [1,2]. With its simple and characteristic composition, the honey bee gut microbiota provides an excellent model for studying the functional and structural aspects of the bacterial communities associated with the gut [5,6,7] These microorganisms participate in various processes such as food digestion, detoxification from harmful molecules, supply of essential nutrients, participation in the host defense system and protection from pathogens and parasites [3]. The presence of Lactic Acid Bacteria (LAB) in the honey bee digestive system has been consistently reported in the literature [15,16]
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