4 research outputs found
Organic waste substrates induce important shifts in gut microbiota of black soldier fly (Hermetia illucens L.) : coexistence of conserved, variable, and potential pathogenic microbes
The sustainable utilization of black soldier fly (BSF) for recycling organic waste into nutrient-rich biomass such as high-quality protein additive, is gaining momentum. Its gut microbiota is thought to play an important role. The study provides the first comprehensive analysis of bacterial and fungal communities of BSF gut across untreated substrates and highlights conserved members, potential pathogens, and their interactions. Findings show most bacteria found in the BSF gut are transient, and are affected by the local environment. The study contributes to establishment of safety measures for future processing of BSF larval meals and the creation of legislation to regulate their use in animal feeds.Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR)Norwegian Agency for Development CooperationNetherlands Organization for Scientific ResearchWOTRO Science for Global Development (NWO-WOTRO)The Rockefeller Foundatio
Loss and gain of gut bacterial phylotype symbionts in afrotropical stingless bee species (Apidae: Meliponinae)
Stingless bees (Apidae: Meliponini) are the most diverse group of corbiculate bees and are
important managed and wild pollinators distributed in the tropical and subtropical regions of the
globe. However, little is known about their associated beneficial microbes that play major roles in host
nutrition, detoxification, growth, activation of immune responses, and protection against pathogens
in their sister groups, honeybees and bumble bees. Here, we provide an initial characterization of
the gut bacterial microbiota of eight stingless bee species from sub-Saharan Africa using 16S rRNA
amplicon sequencing. Our findings revealed that Firmicutes, Actinobacteria, and Proteobacteria were
the dominant and conserved phyla across the eight stingless bee species. Additionally, we found
significant geographical and host intra-species-specific bacterial diversity. Notably, African strains
showed significant phylogenetic clustering when compared with strains from other continents, and
each stingless bee species has its own microbial composition with its own dominant bacterial genus.
Our results suggest host selective mechanisms maintain distinct gut communities among sympatric
species and thus constitute an important resource for future studies on bee health management and
host-microbe co-evolution and adaptation.Figure S1: Alpha rarefaction curve. Figure S2: Gut bacterial
genera associated with each of the eight stingless bee species in Kenya. Figure S3: Bacterial alpha diversity did not correlate with the stingless bee size. Table S1: 16S rRNA sequencing data analysis
(Excel file).Supplementary material: Figure S1: Alpha rarefaction curve. Figure S2: Gut bacterial genera associated with each of the eight stingless bee species in Kenya. Figure S3: Bacterial alpha diversity did not correlate with the stingless bee size. Table S1: 16S rRNA sequencing data analysis (Excel file).The Swiss National Science Foundation Postdoc Mobility, the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD), Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation, the Section for Research, Innovation, and Higher Education and by icipe core donors.https://www.mdpi.com/journal/microorganismsam2022BiochemistryForestry and Agricultural Biotechnology Institute (FABI)GeneticsMicrobiology and Plant Patholog
Organic waste substrates induce important shifts in gut microbiota of black soldier fly (Hermetia illucens L.) : coexistence of conserved, variable, and potential pathogenic microbes
The sustainable utilization of black soldier fly (BSF) for recycling organic waste into
nutrient-rich biomass, such as high-quality protein additive, is gaining momentum, and
its microbiota is thought to play important roles in these processes. Several studies have
characterized the BSF gut microbiota in different substrates and locations; nonetheless,
in-depth knowledge on community stability, consistency of member associations,
pathogenic associations, and microbe–microbe and host–microbe interactions remains
largely elusive. In this study, we characterized the bacterial and fungal communities
of BSF larval gut across four untreated substrates (brewers’ spent grain, kitchen food
waste, poultry manure, and rabbit manure) using 16S and ITS2 amplicon sequencing.
Results demonstrated that substrate impacted larval weight gain from 30 to 100%
gain differences among diets and induced an important microbial shift in the gut of
BSF larvae: fungal communities were highly substrate dependent with Pichia being the
only prevalent genus across 96% of the samples; bacterial communities also varied
across diets; nonetheless, we observed six conserved bacterial members in 99.9%
of our samples, namely, Dysgonomonas, Morganella, Enterococcus, Pseudomonas,
Actinomyces, and Providencia. Among these, Enterococcus was highly correlated with
other genera including Morganella and Providencia. Additionally, we showed that diets
such as rabbit manure induced a dysbiosis with higher loads of the pathogenic bacteria
Campylobacter. Together, this study provides the first comprehensive analysis of
bacterial and fungal communities of BSF gut across untreated substrates and highlights
conserved members, potential pathogens, and their interactions. This information will
contribute to the establishment of safety measures for future processing of BSF larval
meals and the creation of legislation to regulate their use in animal feeds.The Canadian International Development Research Centre (IDRC) and the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR), Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation, the Section for Research, Innovation, and Higher Education (CAP-Africa), the Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research, WOTRO Science for Global Development (NWO-WOTRO) and The Rockefeller Foundation through the International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology (icipe).http://www.frontiersin.org/Microbiologyam2022BiochemistryForestry and Agricultural Biotechnology Institute (FABI)GeneticsMicrobiology and Plant Patholog
Characterization of the Kenyan Honey Bee (Apis mellifera) Gut Microbiota: A First Look at Tropical and Sub-Saharan African Bee Associated Microbiomes
Gut microbiota plays important roles in many physiological processes of the host including digestion, protection, detoxification, and development of immune responses. The honey bee (Apis mellifera) has emerged as model for gut-microbiota host interaction studies due to its gut microbiota being highly conserved and having a simple composition. A key gap in this model is understanding how the microbiome differs regionally, including sampling from the tropics and in particular from Africa. The African region is important from the perspective of the native diversity of the bees, and differences in landscape and bee management. Here, we characterized the honey bee gut microbiota in sub-Saharan Africa using 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing. We confirm the presence of the core gut microbiota members and highlight different compositions of these communities across regions. We found that bees from the coastal regions harbor a higher relative abundance and diversity on core members. Additionally, we showed that Gilliamella, Snodgrassella, and Frischella dominate in all locations, and that altitude and humidity affect Gilliamella abundance. In contrast, we found that Lactobacillus was less common compared temperate regions of the world. This study is a first comprehensive characterization of the gut microbiota of honey bees from sub-Saharan Africa and underscores the need to study microbiome diversity in other indigenous bee species and regions.</jats:p