Microbiology & Immunology Publications
Title
Missing Microbes in Bees: How Systematic Depletion of Key Symbionts Erodes Immunity
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
12-1-2020
Journal
Trends in Microbiology
Volume
28
Issue
12
First Page
1010
Last Page
1021
URL with Digital Object Identifier
10.1016/j.tim.2020.06.006
Abstract
Pesticide exposure, infectious disease, and nutritional stress contribute to honey bee mortality and a high rate of colony loss. This realization has fueled a decades-long investigation into the single and combined effects of each stressor and their overall bearing on insect physiology. However, one element largely missing from this research effort has been the evaluation of underlying microbial communities in resisting environmental stressors and their influence on host immunity and disease tolerance. In humans, multigenerational bombardment by antibiotics is linked with many contemporary diseases. Here, we draw a parallel conclusion for the case in honey bees and suggest that chronic exposure to antimicrobial xenobiotics can systematically deplete honey bees of their microbes and hamper cross-generational preservation of host-adapted symbionts that are crucial to health.