Arsenophonus apicola sp. nov., isolated from the honeybee Apis mellifera

The genus Arsenophonus has been traditionally considered to comprise heritable bacterial symbionts of arthropods. Recent work has reported a microbe related to the type species Arsenophonus nasoniae as infecting the honey bee. Apis mellifera. The association was unusual for members of the genus in that the microbe-host interaction arose through environmental and social exposure rather than vertical transmission. In this study, we describe the in vitro culture of ArsBeeUS(T), a strain of this microbe isolated from A. mellifera in the USA. The 16S rRNA, sequence of the isolated strain indicates it falls within the genus Arsenophonus. Biolog analysis indicates the bacterium has a restricted range of nutrients that support growth. In vivo experiments demonstrate the strain proliferates rapidly on injection into A. mellifera hosts. We further report the closed genome sequence for the strain. The genome is 3.3 Mb and the G+C content is 37.6 mol%. which is smaller than A. nasoniae but larger than the genomes reported for non-culturable Arsenophonus symbionts. The genome is complex, with six extrachromosomal elements and 11 predicted intact phage elements, but notably less complex than A. nasoniae. Strain ArsBeeUS(T) is clearly distinct from the type species A. nasoniae on the basis of genome sequence, with 92% average nucleotide identity. Based on our results, we propose Arsenophonus apicola sp. nov., with the type strain ArsBeeUS(T) (CECT 30499(T)=DSM113403(T)=LMG 32504(T)).

Automated summary

This study reports a microbe related to Arsenophonus nasoniae, traditionally considered heritable bacterial symbionts of arthropods, infecting honey bees (Apis mellifera). The microbe was cultured in vitro and its genome was sequenced. This finding suggests a different mode of transmission for this microbe compared to other Arsenophonus bacteria that are typically found only in arthropods.