Journal
APIDOLOGIE
Volume 47, Issue 2, Pages 237-250Publisher
SPRINGER FRANCE
DOI: 10.1007/s13592-015-0393-7
Keywords
Bombus terrestris; generalist pollinator; microbiota; plasticity; Enterobacteriaceae; reared bumblebees
Categories
Funding
- Fund for Scientific Research-Flanders (Belgium)
Ask authors/readers for more resources
Bombus nests consisting of one queen, brood, and worker adults, are produced indoors for biological pollination in agriculture. In this study, we investigated the gut microbial community in workers of Bombus terrestris when the environment is stable (indoors) or variable (outdoors). When nests were reared indoors under standardized conditions, we identified a small gut microbial community consisting of Neisseriaceae, Orbaceae, Lactobacillaceae, and Bifidobacteriaceae, and the age of bumblebee nests and workers did not affect the alpha and beta diversity, confirming a stable microbiota. Secondly, when indoor-reared nests were moved to outdoors, we observed a major shift in the microbial community, especially in the newborn workers fully developed in the outdoor conditions, with a significant colonization of Enterobacteriaceae. Our new findings are discussed in relation to host-associated core and non-core bacteria in bumblebees including possible implications for host functioning.
Authors
I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.
Reviews
Recommended
No Data Available