U.S. Department of Agriculture: Agricultural Research Service, Lincoln, Nebraska
Date of this Version
6-27-2017
Citation
Current Opinion in Insect Science 2017, 22:125–132
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.cois.2017.05.020
Abstract
The honey bee microbiota has become a hot-spot of recent research. Highly co-evolved with its host, the hindgut microbiota of a worker honey bee consists of six bacterial species shown to occur reliably in particular proportions. Altered microbiota structure is associated with host deficiencies, and a variety of bacteria found throughout the hive environment can dominate the worker gut suppressing or displacing microbiota function. The synthesis presented here suggests environmental insults alter gut bacterial balance, leading to decreased host function and disease progression. Specific functional groups of native bacteria represent a model system to investigate dysbiosis and the evolution of host tolerance/resistance traits in honey bee–microbe interactions.
Comments
U.S. Government