Caste-specific differences in hindgut microbial communities of honey bees (Apis mellifera)

Host-symbiont dynamics are known to influence host phenotype, but their role in social behavior has yet to be investigated. Variation in life history across honey bee (Apis mellifera) castes may influence community composition of gut symbionts, which may in turn influence caste phenotypes. We invest...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:PloS one 2015-04, Vol.10 (4), p.e0123911-e0123911
Main Authors: Kapheim, Karen M, Rao, Vikyath D, Yeoman, Carl J, Wilson, Brenda A, White, Bryan A, Goldenfeld, Nigel, Robinson, Gene E
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adults
Animal behavior
Animals
Apis mellifera
Bacteria
Bacteria - classification
Bacteria - genetics
Bees
Bees - classification
Bees - microbiology
Bees - physiology
Behavior, Animal - physiology
Biology
Castes
Colonies
Community composition
Composition
Diet
Egg production
Energy Metabolism
European honeybee
Female
Food
Food production
Foraging behavior
Gastrointestinal Tract - microbiology
Genes, Bacterial
Hindgut
Honey
Intestinal microflora
Life history
Male
Males
Medical personnel
Microbial activity
Microbial Consortia - genetics
Microbiota
Microbiota - genetics
Microorganisms
Nurses
Phenotypes
Phylogeny
Physiology
Queens
RNA, Ribosomal, 16S - genetics
Social aspects
Social behavior
Symbionts
Symbiosis - physiology
Workers (insect caste)
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Summary:Host-symbiont dynamics are known to influence host phenotype, but their role in social behavior has yet to be investigated. Variation in life history across honey bee (Apis mellifera) castes may influence community composition of gut symbionts, which may in turn influence caste phenotypes. We investigated the relationship between host-symbiont dynamics and social behavior by characterizing the hindgut microbiome among distinct honey bee castes: queens, males and two types of workers, nurses and foragers. Despite a shared hive environment and mouth-to-mouth food transfer among nestmates, we detected separation among gut microbiomes of queens, workers, and males. Gut microbiomes of nurses and foragers were similar to previously characterized honey bee worker microbiomes and to each other, despite differences in diet, activity, and exposure to the external environment. Queen microbiomes were enriched for bacteria that may enhance metabolic conversion of energy from food to egg production. We propose that the two types of workers, which have the highest diversity of operational taxonomic units (OTUs) of bacteria, are central to the maintenance of the colony microbiome. Foragers may introduce new strains of bacteria to the colony from the environment and transfer them to nurses, who filter and distribute them to the rest of the colony. Our results support the idea that host-symbiont dynamics influence microbiome composition and, reciprocally, host social behavior.
ISSN:1932-6203
1932-6203
DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0123911