Temporal Changes in Gut Microbiota Composition and Pollen Diet Associated with Colony Weakness of a Stingless Bee

Compared to honeybees and bumblebees, the effect of diet on the gut microbiome of Neotropical corbiculate bees such as Melipona spp. is largely unknown. These bees have been managed for centuries, but recently an annual disease is affecting M. quadrifasciata, an endangered species kept exclusively by management in Southern Brazil. Here we report the results of a longitudinal metabarcoding study involving the period of M. quadrifasciata colony weakness, designed to monitor the gut microbiota and diet changes preceding an outbreak. We found increasing amounts of bacteria associated to the gut of forager bees 2 months before the first symptoms have been recorded. Simultaneously, forager bees showed decreasing body weight. The accelerated growth of gut-associated bacteria was uneven among taxa, with Bifidobacteriaceae dominating, and Lactobacillaceae decreasing in relative abundance within the bacterial community. Dominant fungi such as Candida and Starmerella also decreased in numbers, and the stingless bee obligate symbiont Zygosaccharomyces showed the lowest relative abundance during the outbreak period. Such changes were associated with pronounced diet shifts, i.e., the rise of Eucalyptus spp. pollen amount in forager bees' guts. Furthermore, there was a negative correlation between the amount of Eucalyptus pollen in diets and the abundance of some bacterial taxa in the gut-associated microbiota. We conclude that diet and subsequent interactions with the gut microbiome are key environmental components of the annual disease and propose the use of diet supplementation as means to sustain the activity of stingless bee keeping as well as native bee pollination services.

Automated summary

Compared to other types of bees, the effect of diet on the gut microbiome of Neotropical corbiculate bees is not well understood. This study found that there was an increase in gut-associated bacteria in forager bees 2 months before the first symptoms were recorded. Additionally, forager bees showed a decrease in body weight. These changes were linked to diet shifts, specifically the increase in Eucalyptus spp. pollen in the bees' guts. There was also a negative correlation between the amount of Eucalyptus pollen in diets and the abundance of certain bacterial taxa in the gut-associated microbiota.