Honeybee gut microbiota promotes host weight gain via bacterial metabolism and hormonal signaling

Social bees harbor a simple and specialized microbiota that is spatially organized into different gut compartments. Recent results on the potential involvement of bee gut communities in pathogen protection and nutritional function have drawn attention to the impact of the microbiota on bee health. However, the contributions of gut microbiota to host physiology have yet to be investigated. Here we show that the gut microbiota promotes weight gain of both whole body and the gut in individual honey bees. This effect is likely mediated by changes in host vitellogenin, insulin signaling, and gustatory response. We found that microbial metabolism markedly reduces gut pH and redox potential through the production of…

• UO
  University of Texas at Austin
• UD
  Université de Lausanne
• NI
  National Institutes of Health

  Award: 1R01-GM108477-01
• DA
  Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency

  Award: HR0011-15-C-0095