Antibiotic exposure perturbs the gut microbiota and elevates mortality in honeybees

Gut microbiomes play crucial roles in animal health, and shifts in the gut microbial community structure can have detrimental impacts on hosts. Studies with vertebrate models and human subjects suggest that antibiotic treatments greatly perturb the native gut community, thereby facilitating proliferation of pathogens. In fact, persistent infections following antibiotic treatment are a major medical issue. In apiculture, antibiotics are frequently used to prevent bacterial infections of larval bees, but the impact of antibiotic-induced dysbiosis (microbial imbalance) on bee health and susceptibility to disease has not been fully elucidated. Here, we evaluated the effects of antibiotic exposure on the size and…

• NS
  National Science Foundation

  Award: 1415604
• NI
  National Institutes of Health

  Awards: 2017-67012-26088, 1R01GM108477-01
• NI
  National Institute of Food and Agriculture

  Awards: 1R01GM108477-01, 2017-67012-26088