Gene gain/loss analysis for Bombella and related microbes

Synergistic effects of multiple stressors underpinned by limited nutrition (Dolezal and Toth, 2018). Poor nutrition is most damaging in developing honey bee larvae, who mature into workers unable to meet the needs of their colony (Scofield and Mattila, 2015). It is therefore essential that we better understand the nutritional landscape experienced by honey bee larvae. In this study, we characterize the metabolic capabilities of a honey bee larvae-associated bacterium, Bombella apis (formerly Parasaccharibacter apium), and its effects on the nutritional resilience of larvae. We found that B. apis is the only bacterium associated with larvae that can withstand the antimicrobial larval diet. Further, we found that B. apis can synthesize all essential amino acids and significantly alters the amino acid content of synthetic larval diet, largely by increasing the essential amino acid lysine. Analyses of gene gain/loss across the phylogeny suggest that four amino acid transporters were gained ...