Symbiotic Lactobacillus Bacteria May Help Wild Bees Nourish Their Offspring

A team of scientists from the University of California, Riverside (UCR) has identified three new species of bacteria — Lactobacillus micheneri, L. timberlakei and L. quenuiae — that live on both wild flowers and bees. These bacterial species may play a role in preserving the nectar and pollen that female bees store in their nests as food for their larvae.

McFrederick et al isolated three previously unknown bacterial species from wild bees and flowers. Image credit: Gail Hampshire / CC BY 2.0.

McFrederick et al isolated three previously unknown bacterial species from wild bees and flowers. Image credit: Gail Hampshire / CC BY 2.0.

Symbiotic bacteria that live in bee guts are believed to promote bee health by helping to digest food and boost immunity.

Compared to honeybees and bumblebees, little is known about the microbial communities associated with wild bees, despite the important role these insects play in the pollination of flowering plants.

To study the bacteria associated with wild bees, Dr. Quinn McFrederick from the UCR College of Natural Agricultural Sciences and colleagues collected wild bees of the families Megachilidae and Halictidae and flowers from two sites in Texas and on the UCR campus.

Genomic DNA sequencing coupled with traditional taxonomic analyses confirmed the isolation of three new Lactobacillus species, which are closely related to the honeybee-associated bacteria Lactobacillus kunkeei.

Lactobacilli are often used by humans to preserve dairy products, fermented vegetables and other foods,” the researchers said.

“The newly-identified species may help bees in a similar way, inhibiting the growth of fungi inside pollen provisions.”

The team is currently conducting research to further explore this hypothesis.

The newly-identified Lactobacillus species (from top to bottom): Lactobacillus quenuiae, L. micheneri and L. timberlakei. Image credit: McFrederick et al, doi: 10.1099/ijsem.0.002758.

The newly-identified Lactobacillus species (from top to bottom): Lactobacillus quenuiae, L. micheneri and L. timberlakei. Image credit: McFrederick et al, doi: 10.1099/ijsem.0.002758.

“Wild bees lay their eggs inside chambers filled with nectar and pollen,” Dr. McFrederick said.

“Once an egg has been laid, it may take several days to hatch and an additional week for the larvae to eat through all the nectar and pollen, so it is important that these provisions don’t spoil during this period.”

“It is interesting that the bacteria were able to live on both wild flowers and bees,” he added.

“The species we isolated have fairly small genomes and not as many genes as you would expect considering they survive in two different environments.”

The team’s results are published in the International Journal of Systematic and Evolutionary Microbiology.

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Quinn S. McFrederick et al. Lactobacillus micheneri sp. nov., Lactobacillus timberlakei sp. nov. and Lactobacillus quenuiae sp. nov., lactic acid bacteria isolated from wild bees and flowers. International Journal of Systematic and Evolutionary Microbiology, published online April 12, 2018; doi: 10.1099/ijsem.0.002758

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