Enterococcus faecium Regulates Honey Bee Developmental Genes

Honey bees provide essential pollination services to the terrestrial ecosystem and produce important agricultural products. As a beneficial lactic acid bacterium, Enterococcus faecium is often supplied as a probiotic for honey bees and other animals. However, the underlying mechanisms of its actions and possible safety risks are not well understood. We present the first complete genome sequence of E. faecium isolated from the honey bee gut using nanopore sequencing, and investigate the effects and mechanisms of interactions between E. faecium and honey bees via transcriptome and miRNA analysis. E. faecium colonization increased honey bee gut weight. Transcriptome analysis showed that developmental genes were up-regulated. In accordance, the target genes of the down-regulated miRNAs were enriched in developmental pathways. We describe how E. faecium increases honey bee gut weight at the transcriptional and post-transcriptional levels, and add insights about how miRNAs mediate host and bacteria interactions.

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Sequential generations of honey bee (Apis mellifera) queens produced using cryopreserved semen

Reproduction Fertility and Development ◽

10.1071/rd11088 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 24 (8) ◽

pp. 1079 ◽

Cited By ~ 12

Author(s):

Brandon K. Hopkins ◽

Charles Herr ◽

Walter S. Sheppard

Keyword(s):

Apis Mellifera ◽

Honey Bee ◽

Honey Bees ◽

Food Production ◽

Effective Means ◽

Eastern Asia ◽

Pollination Services ◽

Instrumental Insemination ◽

Diploid Female ◽

Frozen Semen

Much of the world’s food production is dependent on honey bees for pollination, and expanding food production will further increase the demand for managed pollination services. Apiculturists outside the native range of the honey bee, in the Americas, Australia and eastern Asia, have used only a few of the 27 described subspecies of honey bees (Apis mellifera) for beekeeping purposes. Within the endemic ranges of a particular subspecies, hybridisation can threaten native subspecies when local beekeepers import and propagate non-native honey bees. For many threatened species, cryopreserved germplasm can provide a resource for the preservation of diversity and recovery of endangered populations. However, although instrumental insemination of queen honey bees is well established, the absence of an effective means to cryopreserve honey bee semen has limited the success of efforts to preserve genetic diversity within the species or to develop repositories of honey bee germplasm for breeding purposes. Herein we report that some queens inseminated with cryopreserved semen were capable of producing a substantial number of fertilised offspring. These diploid female larvae were used to produce two additional sequential generations of new queens, which were then back-crossed to the same stock of frozen semen. Our results demonstrate the ability to produce queens using cryopreserved honey bee spermatozoa and the potential for the establishment of a honey bee genetic repository.

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Advances and perspectives in selecting resistance traits against the parasitic mite Varroa destructor in honey bees

Genetics Selection Evolution ◽

10.1186/s12711-020-00591-1 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 52 (1) ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Matthieu Guichard ◽

Vincent Dietemann ◽

Markus Neuditschko ◽

Benjamin Dainat

Keyword(s):

Honey Bee ◽

Environmental Effects ◽

Honey Bees ◽

Varroa Destructor ◽

Selection Strategy ◽

Pollination Services ◽

Colony Losses ◽

New Host ◽

Parasitic Mite ◽

Resistance Traits

Abstract Background In spite of the implementation of control strategies in honey bee (Apis mellifera) keeping, the invasive parasitic mite Varroa destructor remains one of the main causes of colony losses in numerous countries. Therefore, this parasite represents a serious threat to beekeeping and agro-ecosystems that benefit from the pollination services provided by honey bees. To maintain their stocks, beekeepers have to treat their colonies with acaricides every year. Selecting lineages that are resistant to infestations is deemed to be a more sustainable approach. Review Over the last three decades, numerous selection programs have been initiated to improve the host–parasite relationship and to support honey bee survival in the presence of the parasite without the need for acaricide treatments. Although resistance traits have been included in the selection strategy of honey bees, it has not been possible to globally solve the V. destructor problem. In this study, we review the literature on the reasons that have potentially limited the success of such selection programs. We compile the available information to assess the relevance of selected traits and the potential environmental effects that distort trait expression and colony survival. Limitations to the implementation of these traits in the field are also discussed. Conclusions Improving our knowledge of the mechanisms underlying resistance to V. destructor to increase trait relevance, optimizing selection programs to reduce environmental effects, and communicating selection outcomes are all crucial to efforts aiming at establishing a balanced relationship between the invasive parasite and its new host.

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Occurrence and Phylogenetic Analysis of DWV in Stingless Bee (Apidae sp.) in China: A Case Report

Frontiers in Insect Science ◽

10.3389/finsc.2021.748074 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 1 ◽

Author(s):

Lina Zhang ◽

Yanchun Deng ◽

Hongxia Zhao ◽

Ming Zhang ◽

Chunsheng Hou

Keyword(s):

Phylogenetic Analysis ◽

Honey Bee ◽

Honey Bees ◽

Stingless Bees ◽

Vital Role ◽

Stingless Bee ◽

Pollination Services ◽

Important Indicator ◽

Bee Colonies ◽

Bee Viruses

Honey bees play a vital role in providing pollination services for agricultural crops and wild flowering plants. However, the spillover risk of their pathogens to other pollinators or wild insects is becoming a cause for concern. There is some evidence that stingless bees can carry honey bee viruses, but little is known about the presence of honey bee viruses in stingless bees in China. Here, we investigate the occurrence of major honey bee pathogens including bacteria, fungi, and viruses in stingless bees (Apidae: sp.). Our results show that the stingless bees (Apidae: sp.) were mainly infected with DWV-A, but no DWV-B and DWV-C. Phylogenetic analysis on fragments of lp, RdRp, and VP3 of DWV-A indicated that genetic variation in VP3 might an important indicator for host-specific viruses, but it requires further study. Our results indicated that DWV-A is not only the major strain of virus currently circulating in managed bee colonies in China and globally, but in stingless bee species as a whole.

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Multi-tiered Analyses of Honey Bees That Resist or Succumb to Parasitic Mites and Viruses

10.21203/rs.3.rs-291062/v1 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Daniel B. Weaver ◽

Brandi L. Cantarel ◽

Christine Elsik ◽

Dawn L. Lopez ◽

Jay Evans

Keyword(s):

Gene Expression ◽

Honey Bee ◽

Honey Bees ◽

Host Responses ◽

Negative Effects ◽

Pollination Services ◽

Deformed Wing Virus ◽

Mortality And Morbidity ◽

The Individual ◽

Parasitic Mites

Abstract Background Varroa destructor mites, and the numerous viruses they vector to their honey bee hosts, are among the most serious threats to honey bee populations, causing mortality and morbidity to both the individual honey bee and colony, the negative effects of which convey to the pollination services provided by honey bees worldwide. Here we use a combination of targeted assays and deep RNA sequencing to determine host and microbial changes in resistant and susceptible honey bee lineages. We focus on three study sets. The first involves field sampling of sympatric western bees, some derived from resistant stock and some from stock susceptible to mites. The second experiment contrasts three colonies more deeply, two from susceptible stock from the southeastern U.S. and one from mite-resistant bee stock from Eastern Texas. Finally, to decouple the effects of mites from those of the viruses they vector, we experimentally expose honey bees to DWV in the laboratory, measuring viral growth and host responses. Results We find strong differences between resistant and susceptible bees in terms of both viral loads and bee gene expression. Interestingly, lineages of bees with naturally low levels of the mite-vectored Deformed wing virus, also carried lower levels of viruses not vectored by mites. By mapping gene expression results against current ontologies and other studies, we describe the impacts of mite parasitism, as well as viruses on bee health against two genetic backgrounds. We identify numerous genes and processes seen in other studies of stress and disease in honey bee colonies, though we find novel genes and new patterns of expression too. Conclusions We provide evidence that honey bees surviving in the face of parasitic mites do so through their abilities to resist the presence of devastating viruses vectored by these mites. By revealing responses to viral infection and mite parasitism in different lineages, our data identify candidate proteins for the evolution of mite tolerance and virus resistance.

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Significance of Apoidea as Main Pollinators. Ecological and Economic Impact and Implications for Human Nutrition

Diversity ◽

10.3390/d12070280 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 12 (7) ◽

pp. 280

Author(s):

Peter Hristov ◽

Boyko Neov ◽

Rositsa Shumkova ◽

Nadezhda Palova

Keyword(s):

Honey Bee ◽

Honey Bees ◽

Agricultural Production ◽

Genetic Resource ◽

Economic Value ◽

Wild Plants ◽

Insect Pollination ◽

Economic Sectors ◽

Pollination Services ◽

Total Economic Value

Wild and managed bees provide pollination services to crops and wild plants, as well as a variety of other services beneficial to humans. Honey bees are the most economically valuable pollinator worldwide. It has been calculated that 9.5% of the total economic value of agricultural production comes from insect pollination, thus amounting to just under USD 200 billion globally. More than 100 important crops depend on pollination by honey bees. The latter pollinate not only a wide number of commercial crops but also many wild plants, some of which are threatened by extinction and constitute a valuable genetic resource. Moreover, as pollinators, honey bees play a significant role in every aspect of the ecosystem by facilitating the growth of trees, flowers, and other plants that serve as food and shelter for many large and small creatures. In this paper, we describe how the reduction in honey bee populations affects various economic sectors, as well as human health.

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Diet-derived transmission of MicroRNAs from host plant into honey bee Midgut

BMC Genomics ◽

10.1186/s12864-021-07916-4 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 22 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Leila Gharehdaghi ◽

Mohammad Reza Bakhtiarizadeh ◽

Kang He ◽

Taher Harkinezhad ◽

Gholamhosein Tahmasbi ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Signaling Pathway ◽

Honey Bee ◽

Honey Bees ◽

Target Genes ◽

Hippo Signaling ◽

Plant Mirnas ◽

Small Noncoding Rnas ◽

Regulation Function ◽

Regulation Functions ◽

Insect Interactions

Abstract Background MicroRNA (miRNA) is a class of small noncoding RNAs, which targets on thousands of mRNA and thus plays important roles in many biological processes. It has been reported that miRNA has cross-species regulation functions between parasitoid-host, or plant-animal, etc. For example, several plant miRNAs enter into the honey bees and regulate gene expression. However, whether cross-species regulation function of miRNAs is a universal mechanism remains a debate question. Results We have evaluated transmission of miRNAs from sunflower and sedr plants into the midgut of honey bee using RNA-Seq analyses complemented with confirmation by RT-qPCR. The results showed that at least 11 plant miRNAs were found in the midgut of honey bee feeding by sunflower and sedr pollen. Among which, nine miRNAs, including miR-30d, miR-143, miR-148a, miR-21, let-7 g, miR-26a, miR-126, miR-27a, and miR-203, were shared between the sunflower- and sedr-fed honey bees, suggesting they might have essential roles in plant-insect interactions. Moreover, existence of these co-shared miRNAs presents a strong evidence to support the successful transmission of miRNAs into the midgut of the insect. In total, 121 honeybee mRNAs were predicted to be the target of these 11 plant-derived miRNAs. Interestingly, a sedr-derived miRNA, miR-206, targets on 53 honeybee genes. Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genome (KEGG) analyses showed that these target genes are significantly involved in hippo signaling pathway-fly, Wnt signaling pathway, and N-Glycan biosynthesis. Conclusions In summary, these results provide evidence of cross-species regulation function of miRNA between honeybee and flowering host plants, extending our understanding of the molecular interactions between plants and animals.

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Historical Changes in Honey Bee Wing Venation in Romania

Insects ◽

10.3390/insects12060542 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 12 (6) ◽

pp. 542

Author(s):

Adam Tofilski ◽

Eliza Căuia ◽

Adrian Siceanu ◽

Gabriela Oana Vișan ◽

Dumitru Căuia

Keyword(s):

Honey Bee ◽

Honey Bees ◽

Natural Variation ◽

Temporal Changes ◽

Wing Venation ◽

Native Bees ◽

Agricultural Systems ◽

Pollination Services ◽

Important Species ◽

Before And After

The honey bee (Apis mellifera) is an ecologically and economically important species that provides pollination services to natural and agricultural systems. The biodiversity of the honey bee is being endangered by the mass import of non-native queens. In many locations, it is not clear how the local populations have been affected by hybridisation between native and non-native bees. There is especially little information about temporal changes in hybridisation. In Romania, A. m. carpatica naturally occurs, and earlier studies show that there are two subpopulations separated by the Carpathian Mountains. In this study, we investigated how the arrangement of veins in bees’ wings (venation) has changed in Romanian honey bees in the last four decades. We found that in the contemporary population of Romanian bees, there are still clear differences between the intra- and extra-Carpathian subpopulations, which indicates that natural variation among honey bees is still being preserved. We also found significant differences between bees collected before and after 2000. The observed temporal changes in wing venation are most likely caused by hybridisation between native bees and non-native bees sporadically introduced by beekeepers. In order to facilitate conservation and the monitoring of native Romanian bees, we developed a method facilitating their identification.

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Gene knock out of honey bee trypanosomatid parasite, Lotmaria passim, by CRISPR/Cas9 system

10.1101/478198 ◽

2018 ◽

Author(s):

Qiushi Liu ◽

Tatsuhiko Kadowaki

Keyword(s):

Honey Bee ◽

Honey Bees ◽

Simple Method ◽

Knock Out ◽

Homology Directed Repair ◽

Fluorescent Markers ◽

Bee Health ◽

Honey Bee Health ◽

Underlying Mechanisms ◽

Lotmaria Passim

AbstractTwo trypanosomatid species, Lotmaria passim and Crithidia mellificae, have been shown to parasitize honey bees to date. L. passim appears to be more prevalent than C. mellificae and specifically infects the honey bee hindgut. Although the genomic DNA has been sequenced, the effects of infection on honey bee health and colony are poorly understood. To identify the genes that are important for infecting honey bees and to understand their functions, we applied the CRISPR/Cas9 system to establish a method to manipulate L. passim genes. By electroporation of plasmid DNA and subsequent selection by antibiotics, we first established an L. passim clone expressing tdTomato, GFP, or Cas9. We also successfully knocked out the endogenous miltefosine transporter and tyrosine amino transferase genes by replacement with antibiotics (hygromycin) resistant gene using the CRISPR/Cas9-induced homology-directed repair pathway. The L. passim clones expressing fluorescent markers, as well as the simple method for knocking out specific genes, could become useful approaches to understand the underlying mechanisms of honey bee-trypanosomatid parasite interactions.

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High royal jelly production does not impact the gut microbiome of honey bees

Animal Microbiome ◽

10.1186/s42523-021-00124-1 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 3 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Megan E. Damico ◽

Olav Rueppell ◽

Zack Shaffer ◽

Bin Han ◽

Kasie Raymann

Keyword(s):

Honey Bee ◽

Gut Microbiome ◽

Honey Bees ◽

Urban Areas ◽

Royal Jelly ◽

Gene Profiling ◽

Rrna Gene ◽

Pollination Services ◽

Bacterial Composition ◽

Neurological Differences

Abstract Background Honey bees are not only essential for pollination services, but are also economically important as a source of hive products (e.g., honey, royal jelly, pollen, wax, and propolis) that are used as foods, cosmetics, and alternative medicines. Royal jelly is a popular honey bee product with multiple potential medicinal properties. To boost royal jelly production, a long-term genetic selection program of Italian honey bees (ITBs) in China has been performed, resulting in honey bee stocks (here referred to as RJBs) that produce an order of magnitude more royal jelly than ITBs. Although multiple studies have investigated the molecular basis of increased royal jelly yields, one factor that has not been considered is the role of honey bee-associated gut microbes. Results Based on the behavioral, morphological, physiological, and neurological differences between RJBs and ITBs, we predicted that the gut microbiome composition of RJBs bees would differ from ITBs. To test this hypothesis, we investigated the bacterial composition of RJB and ITB workers from an urban location and RJBs from a rural location in China. Based on 16S rRNA gene profiling, we did not find any evidence that RJBs possess a unique bacterial gut community when compared to ITBs. However, we observed differences between honey bees from the urban versus rural sites. Conclusions Our results suggest that the environmental factors rather than stock differences are more important in shaping the bacterial composition in honey bee guts. Further studies are needed to investigate if the observed differences in relative abundance of taxa between the urban and rural bees correspond to distinct functional capabilities that impact honey bee health. Because the lifestyle, diet, and other environmental variables are different in rural and urban areas, controlled studies are needed to determine which of these factors are responsible for the observed differences in gut bacterial composition between urban and rural honeybees.

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Multi-tiered analyses of honey bees that resist or succumb to parasitic mites and viruses

BMC Genomics ◽

10.1186/s12864-021-08032-z ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 22 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Daniel B. Weaver ◽

Brandi L. Cantarel ◽

Christine G. Elsik ◽

Dawn L. Boncristiani ◽

Jay D. Evans

Keyword(s):

Gene Expression ◽

Honey Bee ◽

Honey Bees ◽

Gene Activation ◽

Constitutive Expression ◽

Host Responses ◽

Pollination Services ◽

Deformed Wing Virus ◽

Mortality And Morbidity ◽

Parasitic Mites

Abstract Background Varroa destructor mites, and the numerous viruses they vector to their honey bee hosts, are among the most serious threats to honey bee populations, causing mortality and morbidity to both the individual honey bee and colony, the negative effects of which convey to the pollination services provided by honey bees worldwide. Here we use a combination of targeted assays and deep RNA sequencing to determine host and microbial changes in resistant and susceptible honey bee lineages. We focus on three study sets. The first involves field sampling of sympatric western bees, some derived from resistant stock and some from stock susceptible to mites. The second experiment contrasts three colonies more deeply, two from susceptible stock from the southeastern U.S. and one from mite-resistant bee stock from Eastern Texas. Finally, to decouple the effects of mites from those of the viruses they vector, we experimentally expose honey bees to DWV in the laboratory, measuring viral growth and host responses. Results We find strong differences between resistant and susceptible bees in terms of both viral loads and bee gene expression. Interestingly, lineages of bees with naturally low levels of the mite-vectored Deformed wing virus, also carried lower levels of viruses not vectored by mites. By mapping gene expression results against current ontologies and other studies, we describe the impacts of mite parasitism, as well as viruses on bee health against two genetic backgrounds. We identify numerous genes and processes seen in other studies of stress and disease in honey bee colonies, alongside novel genes and new patterns of expression. Conclusions We provide evidence that honey bees surviving in the face of parasitic mites do so through their abilities to resist the presence of devastating viruses vectored by these mites. In all cases, the most divergence between stocks was seen when bees were exposed to live mites or viruses, suggesting that gene activation, rather than constitutive expression, is key for these interactions. By revealing responses to viral infection and mite parasitism in different lineages, our data identify candidate proteins for the evolution of mite tolerance and virus resistance.

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