Honey bee gut microbiota are modulated by anthropogenic disturbance and ecosystem

Honey bees are essential pollinators that play a significant role in the functioning of ecosystems. Recently, researchers have been studying their gut communities to gain insight into their ecological interactions and the impact of anthropogenic threats faced by these insects. Despite the numerous studies on honey bee gut microbiota, it is still unknown if anthropogenic disturbance of hive ecosystems affects the gut microbial communities. To address this question, we conducted an amplicon-based Next Generation Sequencing of the 16S-rRNA V4 hypervariable region from gut samples from 80 honey bees (Apis mellifera) living in three hives located in the department of Boyacá in eastern Colombia. Our study found a core microbiota composed of eight dominant symbionts involved in different metabolic, immune, and compartmental aspects of the host. Furthermore, we observed that anthropogenic disturbance in honey bee habitats might affect the abundances of the dominant gut bacteria. Our results suggest that favorable environmental conditions within the ecosystem can lead to an increase in symbiont bacteria, presumably promoting better health and honey production. This study is one of the first top-notch studies aimed at describing the remodeling of honey bee gut microbiota in relation to the quality of the ecosystems they inhabit.