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Environmental Effects on Bee Microbiota

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Abstract

Anthropogenic activities and increased land use, which include industrialization, agriculture and urbanization, directly affect pollinators by changing habitats and floral availability, and indirectly by influencing their microbial composition and diversity. Bees form vital symbioses with their microbiota, relying on microorganisms to perform physiological functions and aid in immunity. As altered environments and climate threaten bees and their microbiota, characterizing the microbiome and its complex relationships with its host offers insights into understanding bee health. This review summarizes the role of sociality in microbiota establishment, as well as examines if such factors result in increased susceptibility to altered microbiota due to environmental changes. We characterize the role of geographic distribution, temperature, precipitation, floral resources, agriculture, and urbanization on bee microbiota. Bee microbiota are affected by altered surroundings regardless of sociality. Solitary bees that predominantly acquire their microbiota through the environment are particularly sensitive to such effects. However, the microbiota of obligately eusocial bees are also impacted by environmental changes despite typically well conserved and socially inherited microbiota. We provide an overview of the role of microbiota in plant-pollinator relationships and how bee microbiota play a larger role in urban ecology, offering microbial connections between animals, humans, and the environment. Understanding bee microbiota presents opportunities for sustainable land use restoration and aiding in wildlife conservation.

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Acknowledgements

We thank the members of the Rehan lab for their feedback and help in revising this manuscript. Funding was provided by an Ontario Graduate Scholarship to PNN, Weston Family Foundation Microbiome Initiative and NSERC Discovery Grants to SMR.

Funding

Funding was provided by an Ontario Graduate Scholarship to PNN, Weston Family Foundation Microbiome Initiative and NSERC Discovery Grants to SMR.

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  1. Department of Biology, York University, Toronto, Canada

    Phuong N. Nguyen & Sandra M. Rehan

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  1. Phuong N. Nguyen
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  2. Sandra M. Rehan
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PNN wrote the first draft of the manuscript and constructed all figures. SMR edited the manuscript and supervised the project.

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Correspondence to Sandra M. Rehan.

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Nguyen, P.N., Rehan, S.M. Environmental Effects on Bee Microbiota. Microb Ecol 86, 1487–1498 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00248-023-02226-6

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