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Desclos le Peley V, Grateau S, Moreau-Vauzelle C, Raboteau D, Chevallereau C, Requier F, Aupinel P, Richard FJ. Experimental Ecotoxicology Procedures Interfere with Honey Bee Life History. ENVIRONMENTAL TOXICOLOGY AND CHEMISTRY 2024; 43:1320-1331. [PMID: 38661473 DOI: 10.1002/etc.5872] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/15/2024] [Revised: 01/30/2024] [Accepted: 03/19/2024] [Indexed: 04/26/2024]
Abstract
Apis mellifera was used as a model species for ecotoxicological testing. In the present study, we tested the effects of acetone (0.1% in feed), a solvent commonly used to dissolve pesticides, on bees exposed at different developmental stages (larval and/or adult). Moreover, we explored the potential effect of in vitro larval rearing, a commonly used technique for accurately monitoring worker exposure at the larval stage, by combining acetone exposure and treatment conditions (in vitro larval rearing vs. in vivo larval rearing). We then analyzed the life-history traits of the experimental bees using radio frequency identification technology over three sessions (May, June, and August) to assess the potential seasonal dependence of the solvent effects. Our results highlight the substantial influence of in vitro larval rearing on the life cycle of bees, with a 47.7% decrease in life span, a decrease of 0.9 days in the age at first exit, an increase of 57.3% in the loss rate at first exit, and a decrease of 40.6% in foraging tenure. We did not observe any effect of exposure to acetone at the larval stage on the capacities of bees reared in vitro. Conversely, acetone exposure at the adult stage reduced the bee life span by 21.8% to 60%, decreased the age at first exit by 1.12 to 4.34 days, and reduced the foraging tenure by 30% to 37.7%. Interestingly, we found a significant effect of season on acetone exposure, suggesting that interference with the life-history traits of honey bees is dependent on season. These findings suggest improved integration of long-term monitoring for assessing sublethal responses in bees following exposure to chemicals during both the larval and adult stages. Environ Toxicol Chem 2024;43:1320-1331. © 2024 The Authors. Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of SETAC.
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Affiliation(s)
- Victor Desclos le Peley
- Laboratoire Écologie et Biologie des Interactions-UMR CNRS 7267, Laboratoire EBI-Équipe Écologie Évolution Symbiose, Université de Poitiers, Poitiers, France
| | - Stéphane Grateau
- UE 1255 Abeilles, Paysages, Interactions et Systèmes de culture,Station du Magneraud, Institut national de recherche pour l'agriculture, l'alimentation et l'environnement, Surgères, France
| | - Carole Moreau-Vauzelle
- UE 1255 Abeilles, Paysages, Interactions et Systèmes de culture,Station du Magneraud, Institut national de recherche pour l'agriculture, l'alimentation et l'environnement, Surgères, France
| | - Daniel Raboteau
- UE 1255 Abeilles, Paysages, Interactions et Systèmes de culture,Station du Magneraud, Institut national de recherche pour l'agriculture, l'alimentation et l'environnement, Surgères, France
| | - Colombe Chevallereau
- UE 1255 Abeilles, Paysages, Interactions et Systèmes de culture,Station du Magneraud, Institut national de recherche pour l'agriculture, l'alimentation et l'environnement, Surgères, France
| | - Fabrice Requier
- Université Paris-Saclay, CNRS, IRD, UMR Évolution, Génomes, Comportement et Écologie, Gif-sur-Yvette, France
| | - Pierrick Aupinel
- UE 1255 Abeilles, Paysages, Interactions et Systèmes de culture,Station du Magneraud, Institut national de recherche pour l'agriculture, l'alimentation et l'environnement, Surgères, France
| | - Freddie-Jeanne Richard
- Laboratoire Écologie et Biologie des Interactions-UMR CNRS 7267, Laboratoire EBI-Équipe Écologie Évolution Symbiose, Université de Poitiers, Poitiers, France
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Dewaele J, Barraud A, Hellström S, Paxton RJ, Michez D. A new exposure protocol adapted for wild bees reveals species-specific impacts of the sulfoximine insecticide sulfoxaflor. ECOTOXICOLOGY (LONDON, ENGLAND) 2024:10.1007/s10646-024-02750-2. [PMID: 38649545 DOI: 10.1007/s10646-024-02750-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 03/31/2024] [Indexed: 04/25/2024]
Abstract
Wild bees are crucial pollinators of flowering plants and concerns are rising about their decline associated with pesticide use. Interspecific variation in wild bee response to pesticide exposure is expected to be related to variation in their morphology, physiology, and ecology, though there are still important knowledge gaps in its understanding. Pesticide risk assessments have largely focussed on the Western honey bee sensitivity considering it protective enough for wild bees. Recently, guidelines for Bombus terrestris and Osmia bicornis testing have been developed but are not yet implemented at a global scale in pesticide risk assessments. Here, we developed and tested a new simplified method of pesticide exposure on wild bee species collected from the field in Belgium. Enough specimens of nine species survived in a laboratory setting and were exposed to oral and topical acute doses of a sulfoximine insecticide. Our results confirm significant variability among wild bee species. We show that Osmia cornuta is more sensitive to sulfoxaflor than B. terrestris, whereas Bombus hypnorum is less sensitive. We propose hypotheses on the mechanisms explaining interspecific variations in sensitivity to pesticides. Future pesticide risk assessments of wild bees will require further refinement of protocols for their controlled housing and exposure.
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Affiliation(s)
- Justine Dewaele
- Research Institute for Biosciences, Laboratory of Zoology, University of Mons (UMons), Place du Parc 20, 7000, Mons, Belgium.
- Univ. Lille, CNRS, UMR 8198 - Evo-Eco-Paleo, F-59000, Lille, France.
| | - Alexandre Barraud
- Research Institute for Biosciences, Laboratory of Zoology, University of Mons (UMons), Place du Parc 20, 7000, Mons, Belgium
- Pollinis, 10 rue Saint-Marc, 75002, Paris, France
| | - Sara Hellström
- General Zoology, Institute for Biology, Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, Hoher Weg 8, 06120, Halle, Germany
| | - Robert J Paxton
- General Zoology, Institute for Biology, Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, Hoher Weg 8, 06120, Halle, Germany
| | - Denis Michez
- Research Institute for Biosciences, Laboratory of Zoology, University of Mons (UMons), Place du Parc 20, 7000, Mons, Belgium
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Schilcher F, Scheiner R. New insight into molecular mechanisms underlying division of labor in honeybees. CURRENT OPINION IN INSECT SCIENCE 2023; 59:101080. [PMID: 37391163 DOI: 10.1016/j.cois.2023.101080] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/22/2023] [Revised: 05/22/2023] [Accepted: 06/25/2023] [Indexed: 07/02/2023]
Abstract
Honeybees are highly organized eusocial insects displaying a distinct division of labor. Juvenile hormone (JH) has long been hypothesized to be the major driver of behavioral transitions. However, more and more experiments in recent years have suggested that the role of this hormone is not as fundamental as hypothesized. Vitellogenin, a common egg yolk precursor protein, seems to be the major regulator of division of labor in honeybees, in connection with nutrition and the neurohormone and transmitter octopamine. Here, we review the role of vitellogenin in controlling honeybee division of labor and its modulation by JH, nutrition, and the catecholamine octopamine.
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Affiliation(s)
- Felix Schilcher
- Behavioral Physiology and Sociobiology, University of Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany
| | - Ricarda Scheiner
- Behavioral Physiology and Sociobiology, University of Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany.
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Meikle WG, Corby-Harris V, Ricigliano V, Snyder L, Weiss M. Cold storage as part of a Varroa management strategy: effects on honey bee colony performance, mite levels and stress biomarkers. Sci Rep 2023; 13:11842. [PMID: 37481663 PMCID: PMC10363162 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-39095-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/31/2023] [Accepted: 07/20/2023] [Indexed: 07/24/2023] Open
Abstract
Placing honey bee colonies in cold storage has been proposed as a way to induce a pause in brood production as part of a Varroa mite treatment plan. Here, we exposed colonies to combinations of with or without an October cold storage period and with or without a subsequent miticide application. We then measured the effects of those treatments on colony-level variables (i.e. colony size, Varroa infestation level, survivorship and hive weight and temperature) and pooled individual-level variables that are associated with nutritional and stress responses. Colonies were assessed before and after cold storage, and again post winter, for a total duration of about 5 months, and the experiment was repeated. Brood levels were significantly lower after cold storage, and hive temperatures indicated that most or all brood had emerged after about two weeks in cold storage. However, Varroa levels at the end of the experiments in February were not significantly different among treatment groups. Colonies kept outside (not subjected to cold storage) and treated with a miticide had higher survivorship on average than any other treatment group, but no other group comparisons were significant, and long-term impact of cold storage on adult bee populations and on colony thermoregulation was low. The bee forage environment was also very different between the 2 years of the study, as rainfall and bee forage availability were much higher the second year. Colonies were over 2.5 times larger on average the second year compared to the first, both in terms of adult bee mass and brood area, and expression levels of nutrition and stress response genes were also significantly higher the second year. The results indicate that limited cold storage would likely have little long-term impact on most colony and individual measures of health, but for such a strategy to succeed levels of stressors, such as Varroa, may also need to be low.
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Affiliation(s)
- William G Meikle
- Carl Hayden Bee Research Center, USDA-ARS, Tucson, AZ, 85719, USA.
| | | | - Vincent Ricigliano
- Carl Hayden Bee Research Center, USDA-ARS, Tucson, AZ, 85719, USA
- Honey Bee Breeding, Genetics, and Physiology Research, USDA-ARS, Baton Rouge, LA, 70820, USA
| | - Lucy Snyder
- Carl Hayden Bee Research Center, USDA-ARS, Tucson, AZ, 85719, USA
| | - Milagra Weiss
- Carl Hayden Bee Research Center, USDA-ARS, Tucson, AZ, 85719, USA
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Barascou L, Godeau U, Pioz M, Martin O, Sené D, Crauser D, Le Conte Y, Alaux C. Real-time monitoring of honeybee colony daily activity and bee loss rates can highlight the risk posed by a pesticide. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2023; 886:163928. [PMID: 37156377 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.163928] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/08/2023] [Revised: 04/25/2023] [Accepted: 04/29/2023] [Indexed: 05/10/2023]
Abstract
Information on honeybee foraging performance and especially bee loss rates at the colony level are crucial for evaluating the magnitude of effects due to pesticide exposure, thereby ensuring that protection goals for honeybee colonies are met (i.e. threshold of acceptable effects). However, current methods for monitoring honeybee foraging activity and mortality are very approximate (visual records) or are time-limited and mostly based on single cohort analysis. We therefore assess the potential of bee counters, that enable a colony-level and continuous monitoring of bee flight activity and mortality, in pesticide risk assessment. After assessing the background activity and bee loss rates, we exposed colonies to two concentrations of sulfoxaflor (a neurotoxic insecticide) in sugar syrup: a concentration that was considered to be field realistic (0.59 μg/ml) and a higher concentration (2.36 μg/ml) representing a worst-case exposure scenario. We did not find any effect of the field-realistic concentration on flight activity and bee loss rates. However, a two-fold decrease in daily flight activity and a 10-fold increase in daily bee losses were detected in colonies exposed to the highest sulfoxaflor concentration as compared to before exposure. When compared to the theoretical trigger values associated with the specific protection goal of 7 % colony-size reduction, the observed fold changes in daily bee losses were often found to be at risk for colonies. In conclusion, the real-time and colony-level monitoring of bee loss rates, combined with threshold values indicating at which levels bee loss rates threaten the colony, have great potential for improving regulatory pesticide risk assessments for honeybees under field conditions.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | - Olivier Martin
- INRAE, Biostatistique et processus Spatiaux, Avignon, France
| | - Deborah Sené
- INRAE, Abeilles et Environnement, Avignon, France
| | | | | | - Cedric Alaux
- INRAE, Abeilles et Environnement, Avignon, France
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6
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Copeland DC, Maes PW, Mott BM, Anderson KE. Changes in gut microbiota and metabolism associated with phenotypic plasticity in the honey bee Apis mellifera. Front Microbiol 2022; 13:1059001. [PMID: 36569094 PMCID: PMC9788138 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2022.1059001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/30/2022] [Accepted: 11/17/2022] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Honey bees exhibit an elaborate social structure based in part on an age-related division of labor. Young workers perform tasks inside the hive, while older workers forage outside the hive, tasks associated with distinct diets and metabolism. Critical to colony fitness, the work force can respond rapidly to changes in the environment or colony demography and assume emergency tasks, resulting in young foragers or old nurses. We hypothesized that both task and age affect the gut microbiota consistent with changes to host diet and physiology. We performed two experiments inducing precocious foragers and reverted nurses, then quantified tissue-specific gut microbiota and host metabolic state associated with nutrition, immunity and oxidative stress. In the precocious forager experiment, both age and ontogeny explained differences in midgut and ileum microbiota, but host gene expression was best explained by an interaction of these factors. Precocious foragers were nutritionally deficient, and incurred higher levels of oxidative damage relative to age-matched nurses. In the oldest workers, reverted nurses, the oxidative damage associated with age and past foraging was compensated by high Vitellogenin expression, which exceeded that of young nurses. Host-microbial interactions were evident throughout the dataset, highlighted by an age-based increase of Gilliamella abundance and diversity concurrent with increased carbonyl accumulation and CuZnSOD expression. The results in general contribute to an understanding of ecological succession of the worker gut microbiota, defining the species-level transition from nurse to forager.
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Affiliation(s)
- Duan C. Copeland
- USDA-ARS Carl Hayden Bee Research Center, Tucson, AZ, United States,Department of Microbiology, School of Animal and Comparative Biomedical Sciences, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, United States,*Correspondence: Duan C. Copeland,
| | - Patrick W. Maes
- USDA-ARS Carl Hayden Bee Research Center, Tucson, AZ, United States,Department of Entomology and Center for Insect Science, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, United States
| | - Brendon M. Mott
- USDA-ARS Carl Hayden Bee Research Center, Tucson, AZ, United States
| | - Kirk E. Anderson
- USDA-ARS Carl Hayden Bee Research Center, Tucson, AZ, United States,*Correspondence: Duan C. Copeland,
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Barascou L, Sene D, Le Conte Y, Alaux C. Pesticide risk assessment: honeybee workers are not all equal regarding the risk posed by exposure to pesticides. ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE AND POLLUTION RESEARCH INTERNATIONAL 2022; 29:90328-90337. [PMID: 35864404 DOI: 10.1007/s11356-022-21969-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/28/2022] [Accepted: 07/07/2022] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
Toxicological studies in honeybees have long shown that a single pesticide dose or concentration does not necessarily induce a single response. Inter-individual differences in pesticide sensitivity and/or the level of exposure (e.g., ingestion of pesticide-contaminated matrices) may explain this variability in risk posed by a pesticide. Therefore, to better inform pesticide risk assessment for honeybees, we studied the risk posed by pesticides to two behavioral castes, nurse, and forager bees, which are largely represented within colonies and which exhibit large differences in their physiological backgrounds. For that purpose, we determined the sensitivity of nurses and foragers to azoxystrobin (fungicide) and sulfoxaflor (insecticide) upon acute or chronic exposure. Azoxystrobin was found to be weakly toxic to both types of bees. However, foragers were more sensitive to sulfoxaflor than nurses upon acute and chronic exposure. This phenomenon was not explained by better sulfoxaflor metabolization in nurses, but rather by differences in body weight (nurses being 1.6 times heavier than foragers). Foragers consistently consumed more sugar syrup than nurses, and this increased consumption was even more pronounced with pesticide-contaminated syrup (at specific concentrations). Altogether, the stronger susceptibility and exposure of foragers to sulfoxaflor contributed to increases of 2 and tenfold for the acute and chronic risk quotients, respectively, compared to nurses. In conclusion, to increase the safety margin and avoid an under-estimation of the risk posed by insecticides to honeybees, we recommend systematically including forager bees in regulatory tests.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Deborah Sene
- INRAE, Abeilles Et Environnement, Avignon, France
| | | | - Cedric Alaux
- INRAE, Abeilles Et Environnement, Avignon, France.
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8
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Sevin S, Bommuraj V, Chen Y, Afik O, Zarchin S, Barel S, Arslan OC, Erdem B, Tutun H, Shimshoni JA. Lithium salts: assessment of their chronic and acute toxicities to honey bees and their anti-Varroa field efficacy. PEST MANAGEMENT SCIENCE 2022; 78:4507-4516. [PMID: 35808970 DOI: 10.1002/ps.7071] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/14/2021] [Revised: 06/30/2022] [Accepted: 07/09/2022] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Varroa control is essential for the maintenance of healthy honey bee colonies. Overuse of acaricides has led to the evolution of resistance to those substances. Studies of the short-term acaricidal effects and safety of various lithium (Li) salts recently have been reported. This study examined the long-term in vitro and in vivo bee toxicities, short-term motor toxicity to bees and long-term anti-Varroa field efficacy of several Li salts. RESULTS In an in vitro chronic-toxicity assay, lithium citrate (18.8 mm) was the most toxic of the examined salts, followed by lithium lactate (29.5 mm), and lithium formate (32.5 mm). In terms of acute locomotor toxicity to bees, all of the Li salts were well-tolerated and none of the treatment groups differed from the negative control group. In an in vitro survival study, all of the Li treatments significantly reduced bee life spans by a factor of 1.8-7.2, as compared to the control. In terms of life expectancy, lithium citrate was the most toxic salt, with no significant differences noted between lithium formate and lithium lactate. In the bee-mortality field study, none of the examined treatments differed from the negative control. Amitraz and lithium formate exhibited similar acaricide effects, which were significantly different from those observed for lithium lactate and the negative control. CONCLUSION In light of lithium formate's honey bee safety and efficacy as an acaricide, additional sublethal toxicity studies in brood, drones and queens, as well as tests aimed at the optimization of administration frequency are warranted. © 2022 Society of Chemical Industry.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sedat Sevin
- Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Ankara University, Ankara, Turkey
| | - Vijayakumar Bommuraj
- Department of Food Quality & Safety, Institute for Postharvest and Food Sciences, Agricultural Research Organization, Volcani Center, Rishon LeZion, Israel
| | - Yaira Chen
- Department of Food Quality & Safety, Institute for Postharvest and Food Sciences, Agricultural Research Organization, Volcani Center, Rishon LeZion, Israel
| | - Ohad Afik
- Agricultural Extension Service, Ministry of Agriculture and rural development, Bet Dagan, Israel
| | - Shlomi Zarchin
- Agricultural Extension Service, Ministry of Agriculture and rural development, Bet Dagan, Israel
| | - Shimon Barel
- Kimron Veterinary Institute, Department of Toxicology, Bet Dagan, Israel
| | - Okan Can Arslan
- Department of Biological Sciences, Middle East Technical University, Ankara, Turkey
| | - Babür Erdem
- Department of Biological Sciences, Middle East Technical University, Ankara, Turkey
| | - Hidayet Tutun
- Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Burdur Mehmet Akif Ersoy University, Burdur, Turkey
| | - Jakob A Shimshoni
- Department of Food Quality & Safety, Institute for Postharvest and Food Sciences, Agricultural Research Organization, Volcani Center, Rishon LeZion, Israel
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Colin T, Warren RJ, Quarrell SR, Allen GR, Barron AB. Evaluating the foraging performance of individual honey bees in different environments with automated field
RFID
systems. Ecosphere 2022. [DOI: 10.1002/ecs2.4088] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/11/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Théotime Colin
- School of Life and Environmental Sciences The University of Sydney Sydney New South Wales Australia
- Department of Biological Sciences Macquarie University Sydney New South Wales Australia
| | - Ryan J. Warren
- Tasmanian Institute of Agriculture University of Tasmania Hobart Tasmania Australia
| | - Stephen R. Quarrell
- Tasmanian Institute of Agriculture University of Tasmania Hobart Tasmania Australia
| | - Geoff R. Allen
- Tasmanian Institute of Agriculture University of Tasmania Hobart Tasmania Australia
| | - Andrew B. Barron
- Department of Biological Sciences Macquarie University Sydney New South Wales Australia
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Lv M, Wang S, Yin H, Dong K, Liu Y, Pan H, Lin Q, Cao Z. Probiotic Potential and Effects on Gut Microbiota Composition and Immunity of Indigenous Gut Lactobacilli in Apis cerana. Probiotics Antimicrob Proteins 2022; 14:252-262. [PMID: 35325390 DOI: 10.1007/s12602-022-09935-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 03/14/2022] [Indexed: 10/18/2022]
Abstract
This study aimed to investigate the probiotic potential of gut indigenous lactic acid bacteria (LAB) originated from Apis cerana. Six Limosilactobacillus reuteri and one Lactobacillus helveticus were isolated from gut samples of A. cerana adult worker bee. All isolates antagonized the growth of pathogens including Salmonella typhimurium, Escherichia coli, Shigella flexneri, and Flavobacterium frigidimaris, and L. helveticus KM7 showed the greatest antimicrobial activity among them. All strains were sensitive to cefotaxime, amoxicillin, cephalothin, penicillin G, kanamycin, and vancomycin, moderately sensitive to novobiocin and resistant to gentamicin. Six out of seven strains were sensitive to ampicillin. L. helveticus KM7 was chosen to evaluate in vivo probiotic effect of adult worker bees of A. cerana through fed sucrose syrup supplemented with KM7. Administration of KM7 increased survival rate and gut LAB but decreased gut fungi and Enterococcus in honeybees. Expressions of genes related to antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) including Abaecin and Defensin were also induced in the gut of honeybees. The results suggested that L. helveticus KM7 with greater probiotic properties could improve the survival rate of adult worker honeybees of A. cerana through regulating gut microbiota and AMPs genes expression.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mingkui Lv
- Faculty of Animal Science and Technology, Yunnan Agricultural University, Heilongtan, North Suburb, 650201, People's Republic of China
| | - Sifan Wang
- Faculty of Animal Science and Technology, Yunnan Agricultural University, Heilongtan, North Suburb, 650201, People's Republic of China
| | - Huajuan Yin
- Faculty of Animal Science and Technology, Yunnan Agricultural University, Heilongtan, North Suburb, 650201, People's Republic of China
| | - Kun Dong
- Faculty of Animal Science and Technology, Yunnan Agricultural University, Heilongtan, North Suburb, 650201, People's Republic of China
| | - Yiqiu Liu
- Faculty of Animal Science and Technology, Yunnan Agricultural University, Heilongtan, North Suburb, 650201, People's Republic of China
| | - Hongbin Pan
- Faculty of Animal Science and Technology, Yunnan Agricultural University, Heilongtan, North Suburb, 650201, People's Republic of China
| | - Qiuye Lin
- College of Food Science and Technology, Yunnan Agricultural University, Heilongtan, North Suburb, 650201, People's Republic of China
| | - Zhenhui Cao
- Faculty of Animal Science and Technology, Yunnan Agricultural University, Heilongtan, North Suburb, 650201, People's Republic of China. .,Yunnan Provincial Key Laboratory of Animal Nutrition and Feed Science, Heilongtan, North Suburb, 650201, People's Republic of China.
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11
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Barascou L, Requier F, Sené D, Crauser D, Le Conte Y, Alaux C. Delayed effects of a single dose of a neurotoxic pesticide (sulfoxaflor) on honeybee foraging activity. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2022; 805:150351. [PMID: 34818794 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.150351] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/20/2021] [Revised: 09/10/2021] [Accepted: 09/11/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
Pesticide risk-assessment guidelines for honeybees (Apis mellifera) generally require determining the acute toxicity of a chemical over the short-term through fix-duration tests. However, potential long-lasting or delayed effects resulting from an acute exposure (e.g. a single dose) are often overlooked, although the modification of a developmental process may have life-long consequences. To investigate this question, we exposed young honeybee workers to a single sublethal field-realistic dose of a neurotoxic pesticide, sulfoxaflor, at one of two amounts (16 or 60 ng), at the moment when they initiated orientation flights (preceding foraging activity). We then tracked in the field their flight activity and lifespan with automated life-long monitoring devices. Both amounts of sulfoxaflor administered reduced the total number of flights but did not affect bee survival and flight duration. When looking at the time series of flight activity, effects were not immediate but delayed until foraging activity with a decrease in the daily number of foraging flights and consequently in their total number (24 and 33% less for the 16 and 60 ng doses, respectively). The results of our study therefore blur the general assumption in honeybee toxicology that acute exposure results in immediate and rapid effects and call for long-term recording and/or time-to-effect measurements, even upon exposure to a single dose of pesticide.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Fabrice Requier
- Université Paris-Saclay, CNRS, IRD, UMR Évolution, Génomes, Comportement et Écologie, F-91198 Gif-sur-Yvette, France
| | - Deborah Sené
- INRAE, Abeilles et Environnement, Avignon, France
| | | | | | - Cedric Alaux
- INRAE, Abeilles et Environnement, Avignon, France
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12
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Where Is the Honey Bee Queen Flying? The Original Case of a Foraging Queen. INSECTS 2021; 12:insects12111035. [PMID: 34821834 PMCID: PMC8620182 DOI: 10.3390/insects12111035] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/14/2021] [Revised: 11/02/2021] [Accepted: 11/11/2021] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
Abstract
Simple Summary Reproduction is the only task normally attributed to the queen due to its specific morpho-functional characteristics, while foraging activities are exclusively carried out by workers bees in the honey bee colony. For example, the queen’s proboscis is shorter than that of workers and, therefore, less suitable for exploring the inside of flowers to collect nectar. Olfactory and visual detection is also less developed in the queen than in workers, and it is well known how important these stimuli are in order to search for appropriate flowers and find the food source within the flower. In the countryside of northern Sardinia, a honey bee queen (Apis mellifera L.) was detected for the first time while foraging on a flower (a borage flower), most likely during an orientation flight before mating. The open, shallow corolla, and the excellent nectar secretion of the borage flower might have facilitated the queen bee activity. This new queen behaviour was based on the morphological traits of the specimen collected and photos taken in that moment. The observed foraging activity opens new and yet unexplored perspectives on the behaviour of queen bees outside the nest (or the hive), which could occasionally include tasks usually attributed only to workers. Abstract During a bee fauna survey in the countryside of northern Sardinia, a honey bee queen (Apis mellifera L.) was detected while foraging on a borage (Borago officinalis L.) flower in Uri, Province of Sassari, Italy, most likely during an orientation flight before mating. Morphological details, detectable from photos with the naked eye and stereomicroscopic observations, confirmed that the honey bee queen was sucking nectar from a flower. The enormous development of the abdomen, lack of pollen-collecting structures in the legs and other characteristics such as the typical distally bilobed shape of the mandibles, with long hairs on their outer surface, proved the structural differences between the queen specimen and the other castes of bees. The queen’s proboscis, which is shorter compared to the workers, may have been counterbalanced by the shape and nectar production of the borage flower. This new observation proves that the queen can feed herself under natural conditions, likely to obtain the energy required for flying. Although we cannot exclude disturbing factors that could explain this foraging behaviour of a queen observed for the first time, this note opens a new scenario and discusses this new finding in the context of the available literature on the queen’s behaviour and questions to be answered.
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