Bacterial communities isolated with three host bee species: Halictus ligatus, Augochlora pura and Megalopta genalis. uncultured bacterium

Wild and managed bee populations are in decline, threatening both natural and agricultural ecosystems that depend on their essential pollination services. Although no causal relationships have been established, links between pollinator declines and pathogens have been posited. This project uses next generation sequencing to screen microbial communities found in the nests of socially variable wild bees in the genus Megalopta. Two hypotheses are being tested: 1) microbial communities inside the enclosed ecosystem of a bee's brood chamber exhibit predictable patterns of community structure and 2) microbial communities in the nests of social bees are more diverse than communities in the nests of solitary bees. A major goal of the project is to determine how microbes affect bee health by identifying putative pathogens and mutualists and examining their interactions. To determine if bacteria that are associated with sweat bees, their brood cells and their nests can be transmitted environmentally, we used 16S amplicon pyrosequencing to quantify sweat bee associated bacterial communities. We isolated bacterial DNA from three host bee species: Halictus ligatus, Augochlora pura and Megalopta genalis.