title: Early gut colonizers shape parasite susceptibility and microbiota composition in honey bee workers.
abstract: Microbial symbionts living within animal guts are largely composed of resident bacterial species, forming communities that often provide benefits to the host. Gut microbiomes of adult honey bees (Apis mellifera) include core residents such as the betaproteobacterium Snodgrassella alvi, alongside transient parasites such as the protozoan Lotmaria passim To test how these species affect microbiome composition and host physiology, we administered S alvi and/or L passim inocula to newly emerged worker bees from four genetic backgrounds (GH) and reared them in normal (within hives) or stressed (protein-deficient, asocial) conditions. Microbiota acquired by normal bees were abundant but quantitatively differed across treatments, indicating treatment-associated dysbiosis. Pretreatment with S. alvi made normal bees more susceptible to L. passim and altered developmental and detoxification gene expression. Stressed bees were more susceptible to L. passim and were depauperate in core microbiota, yet supplementation with S. alvi did not alter this susceptibility. Microbiomes were generally more variable by GH in stressed bees, which also showed opposing and comparatively reduced modulation of gene expression responses to treatments compared with normal bees. These data provide experimental support for a link between altered gut microbiota and increased parasite and pathogen prevalence, as observed from honey bee colony collapse disorder.
authors.affiliation: Bee Research Laboratory, Beltsville Agricultural Research Center, US Department of Agriculture, Beltsville, MD 20705; Department of Biology, Fort Lewis College, Durango, CO 81301; rsschwarz@fortlewis.edu.
authors.forename: Ryan S
authors.initials: RS
authors.lastname: Schwarz
authors.affiliation: Department of Integrative Biology, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX 78712.
authors.forename: Nancy A
authors.initials: NA
authors.lastname: Moran
authors.affiliation: Bee Research Laboratory, Beltsville Agricultural Research Center, US Department of Agriculture, Beltsville, MD 20705;
authors.forename: Jay D
authors.initials: JD
authors.lastname: Evans
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001516:Bees / Q000235:genetics / Q000382:microbiology* / Q000469:parasitology*; D003577:Cytochrome P-450 Enzyme System / Q000235:genetics; D004198:Disease Susceptibility; D000069196:Gastrointestinal Microbiome; D041981:Gastrointestinal Tract / Q000382:microbiology*
chemical_list: D003577:Cytochrome P-450 Enzyme System
keywords: cytochrome P450; dysbiosis; microbial interaction; parasitism; vitellogenin