Gut microbiomes of honey bees (Apis mellifera) experimentally exposed to crops

Authors: TRAN, L - Agri Food - Canada; LANSING, L - Agri Food - Canada; CUNNINGHAM, M - Agri Food - Canada; HO, J - Agri Food - Canada; DECKERS, T - Agri Food - Canada; NEWMAN, T - Agri Food - Canada; WU, L - Agri Food - Canada; GREGORIS, AS - Agri Food - Canada; ZORZ, J - Agri Food - Canada; MUNTZ, L - Agri Food - Canada; Walsh, Elizabeth; LEE, K - Agri Food - Canada; TRÉPANIER-LEROUX, D - Agri Food - Canada; CONFLITTI, I - York University; PEPINELLI, M - York University; MORFIN, N - University Of Guelph; POWELL, J - University Of Texas At Austin; MORAN, N - University Of Austin; HOOVES, S - University Of Lethbridge; PERNAL, S - Agri Food - Canada; CURRIE, R - University Of Manitoba; GIOVENAZZO, P - University Of Laval; GUZMAN-NOVOA, E - University Of Guelph; JABBARI, H - University Of Victoria; FOSTER, L - University Of British Columbia; ZAYED, A - York University; ORTEGA, POLO - Lethbridge Research Center

Submitted to: Microbiology Resource Announcements
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 12/29/2024
Publication Date: 2/4/2025
Citation: Tran, L., Lansing, L., Cunningham, M., Ho, J., Deckers, T., Newman, T., Wu, L., Gregoris, A., Zorz, J., Muntz, L., Walsh, E.M., Lee, K., Trépanier-Leroux, D., Conflitti, I., Pepinelli, M., Morfin, N., Powell, J., Moran, N., Hooves, S., Pernal, S., Currie, R., Giovenazzo, P., Guzman-Novoa, E., Jabbari, H., Foster, L., Zayed, A., Ortega, P. 2025. Gut microbiomes of honey bees (Apis mellifera) experimentally exposed to crops. Microbiology Resource Announcements. https://doi.org/10.1128/mra.00731-24.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1128/mra.00731-24

Interpretive Summary: We set up experiments where we put honey bee colonies near and far from agricultural crop systems in different parts of Canada. We then extracted and sequenced the genomes of the gut microbiome of these workers. This peer-reviewed announcement is the sequencing "birth" announcement for the microbiomes of honey bee workers which were closely (or not at all) associated with agricultural crops in Canada. The crops of interest include blueberries (high and lowbush), cranberries, apples, canola (seed and oil), corn, and soybeans. Public accessibility of these sequences allows other scientists to utilize this data and compare these results to the gut microbiota of bees or other insects in various scenarios, which will continue to allow additional collaborative efforts to improve our knowledge of honey bee health.

Technical Abstract: The gut microbiome of the European honey bee (Apis mellifera), plays a crucial role in its health, metabolism, and immunity, as well as an indicator of environmental health. However, large- scale studies of the honey bee microbiome remain limited. Here, we announce the release of metagenomic sequencing data from honey bee samples collected near and far from a variety of crops across Canada in 2020 and 2021. Our datasets have the potential to help address a wide array of biological and environmental inquiries regarding shifts in gut microbiome composition and their association with the health of honey bees and their environment.