Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 24, 2026

Empirical, Metagenomic, and Computational Techniques Illuminate the Mechanisms by which Fungicides Compromise Bee Health
Published on: October 9, 2017
Symbionts as major modulators of insect health: lactic acid bacteria and honeybees
Alejandra Vásquez1, Eva Forsgren, Ingemar Fries
1Department of Laboratory Medicine, Medical Microbiology, Lund University, Lund, Sweden. Alejandra.Vasquez@med.lu.se
Abstract:
Lactic acid bacteria (LAB) are well recognized beneficial host-associated members of the microbiota of humans and animals. Yet LAB-associations of invertebrates have been poorly characterized and their functions remain obscure. Here we show that honeybees possess an abundant, diverse and ancient LAB microbiota in their honey crop with beneficial effects for bee health, defending them against microbial threats. Our studies of LAB in all extant honeybee species plus related apid bees reveal one of the largest collections of novel species from the genera Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium ever discovered within a single insect and suggest a long (>80 mya) history of association. Bee associated microbiotas highlight Lactobacillus kunkeei as the dominant LAB member. Those showing potent antimicrobial properties are acquired by callow honey bee workers from nestmates and maintained within the crop in biofilms, though beekeeping management practices can negatively impact this microbiota. Prophylactic practices that enhance LAB, or supplementary feeding of LAB, may serve in integrated approaches to sustainable pollinator service provision. We anticipate this microbiota will become central to studies on honeybee health, including colony collapse disorder, and act as an exemplar case of insect-microbe symbiosis.
More Related Videos
06:56Preparing and Rearing Axenic Insects with Tissue Cultured Seedlings for Host-Gut Microbiota Interaction Studies of the Leaf Beetle
Published on: October 8, 2021
08:42Methods for Comparing Nutrients in Beebread Made by Africanized and European Honey Bees and the Effects on Hemolymph Protein Titers
Published on: March 17, 2015
Related Concept Videos
Microbial Interactions: Cooperation
Symbiosis
Microbe-Plant Interactions
Microbial Interactions: Mutualism
Microorganisms in Agriculture and Food industry
Microbial Interactions: Parasitism