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Investigation of the gut microbiome of Apis cerana honeybees from Vietnam

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Abstract

Objectives

In this study, the gut microbiome of healthy adult honeybees, Apis cerana, was investigated by sequencing the V3 – V4 region in 16S rRNA gene using Illumina Miseq platform.

Results

The total of 37,853 reads for 16S rRNA gene were obtained and 30,121 (79.6%) reads were valid with 25,291 (84.0%) reads that were classified into 116 species belonging to four major phyla. The relative abundances of the bacterial isolates in honeybee samples were phylum Proteobacteria (70.7%), Actinobacteria (10.7%), Firmicutes (10.3%), and Bacteroidetes (8.4%), respectively. Lactic acid bacteria comprised 18.95% with 10 groups including Bifidobacterium asteroides, B. indicum, Fructobacillus fructosus, Lactobacillus apinorum, L. apis, L. helsingborgensis, L. kimbladii, L. kullabergensis, and L. kunkeei.

Conclusions

The presence of beneficial bacteria in the gut highlighted their role in the honeybee and suggested that they can be promising candidates for the development of probiotics for health improvement, infection control and disease management of honeybees.

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Abbreviations

AMPs:

Antimicrobial peptides

DNA:

Deoxyribonucleic acid

EDTA:

Ethylene diamine tetraacetic acid

NGS:

Next generation sequencing

OTU:

Operational taxonomic unit

PCR:

Polymerase chain reaction

QC:

Quality check

rRNA:

Ribosomal ribonucleic acid

SDS:

Sodium đoecyl sulfate

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Acknowledgements

This research was supported by Vietnam National Foundation for Science and Technology Development (NAFOSTED) under grant number 106.04-2019.24, and by an international research fund (Project Code No. I-1543081-2017-18-0102) by Animal and Plant Quarantine Agency, South Korea. The authors would like to thank to Dr. Byung-Yong Kim for his invaluable scientific support.

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Author notes

  1. Bui Thi Thuy Duong and Nguyen Thi Kim Lien (co-first authors) have contributed equally to this work.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Molecular Microbiology Lab, Institute of Biotechnology, Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology, 18 Hoang Quoc Viet, Cau Giay, Hanoi, Vietnam

    Bui Thi Thuy Duong, Ha Thi Thu, Nguyen Thi Hoa, Pham Thi Lanh & Dong Van Quyen

  2. Functional Genomics Lab, Institute of Genome Research, Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology, 18 Hoang Quoc Viet, Cau Giay, Hanoi, Vietnam

    Nguyen Thi Kim Lien

  3. Bacterial Disease Division, Animal and Plant Quarantine Agency, 177 Hyeoksin 8-ro, 39660, Gimcheon-si, Gyeongsangbuk-do, Republic of Korea

    Bo-Ram Yun, Mi-Sun Yoo & Yun Sang Cho

  4. University of Science and Technology of Ha Noi, Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology, 18 Hoang Quoc Viet, Cau Giay, Hanoi, Vietnam

    Dong Van Quyen

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  1. Bui Thi Thuy Duong
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Duong, B.T.T., Lien, N.T.K., Thu, H.T. et al. Investigation of the gut microbiome of Apis cerana honeybees from Vietnam. Biotechnol Lett 42, 2309–2317 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10529-020-02948-4

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