title: Ecological Succession in the Honey Bee Gut: Shift in Lactobacillus Strain Dominance During Early Adult Development.
abstract: In many vertebrates, social interactions and nutrition can affect the colonization of gut symbionts across generations. In the highly social honey bee, it is unknown to what extent the hive environment and older worker individuals contribute to the generational transmission of core gut bacteria. We used high-throughput sequencing to investigate the effect of nest materials and social contact on the colonization and succession of core hindgut microbiota in workers. With only brief exposure to hive materials following natural eclosion, gut bacterial communities at 3 and 7 days contained phylotypes typically found in the guts of mature adults regardless of treatment. Continuous exposure to nest materials or direct social interactions with mature adults did not affect the diversity or abundance of gut bacterial communities at the scale examined. Similarly, a common pollen supplement fed by beekeepers during pollen dearth had no effect. A consideration of unique OTUs revealed extensive microbial succession independent of treatment. The dominant Lactobacillus strain at 3 days was largely replaced by a different strain at day 7, revealing the colonization signature of a pioneer species. Similar but less pronounced patterns were evident in less abundant OTU's, many of which may influence community succession via alteration of the gut environment. Our results indicate that the process of bacterial community colonization in the hindgut is resilient to changes in the nutritional, hive, and social environment. Greater taxonomic resolution is needed to accurately resolve questions of ecological succession and typical proportional variation within and between core members of the gut bacterial community.
authors.affiliation: USDA-ARS Carl Hayden Bee Research Center, 2000 E. Allen Rd, Tucson, AZ, 85719, USA. kirk.anderson@ars.usda.gov.|Graduate Interdisciplinary Program in Entomology and Insect Science, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, 85721, USA. kirk.anderson@ars.usda.gov.|Department of Entomology, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, 85721, USA. kirk.anderson@ars.usda.gov.
authors.forename: Kirk E
authors.initials: KE
authors.lastname: Anderson
authors.affiliation: Graduate Interdisciplinary Program in Entomology and Insect Science, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, 85721, USA.|Department of Entomology, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, 85721, USA.
authors.forename: Pedro A P
authors.initials: PA
authors.lastname: Rodrigues
authors.affiliation: USDA-ARS Carl Hayden Bee Research Center, 2000 E. Allen Rd, Tucson, AZ, 85719, USA.
authors.forename: Brendon M
authors.initials: BM
authors.lastname: Mott
authors.affiliation: Graduate Interdisciplinary Program in Entomology and Insect Science, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, 85721, USA.|Department of Entomology, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, 85721, USA.
authors.forename: Patrick
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Maes
authors.affiliation: USDA-ARS Carl Hayden Bee Research Center, 2000 E. Allen Rd, Tucson, AZ, 85719, USA.|Graduate Interdisciplinary Program in Entomology and Insect Science, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, 85721, USA.|Department of Entomology, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, 85721, USA.
authors.forename: Vanessa
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Corby-Harris
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D058491:Bacterial Load; D001516:Bees / Q000254:growth & development / Q000382:microbiology*; D044822:Biodiversity; D004463:Ecology; D000069196:Gastrointestinal Microbiome; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D007778:Lactobacillus / Q000145:classification* / Q000235:genetics / Q000254:growth & development; D064307:Microbiota; D010802:Phylogeny; D011058:Pollen / Q000382:microbiology; D013559:Symbiosis
keywords: Gut microbiota; Lactobacillus firm 5; Social environment; Supplemental nutrition