Gut microbiota influences onset of foraging-related behavior but not physiological hallmarks of division of labor in honeybees.

Details

Serval ID
serval:BIB_12C359371AC6
Type
Article: article from journal or magazin.
Collection
Publications
Institution
Title
Gut microbiota influences onset of foraging-related behavior but not physiological hallmarks of division of labor in honeybees.
Journal
mBio
Author(s)
Liberti J., Frank E.T., Kay T., Kesner L., Monié-Ibanes M., Quinn A., Schmitt T., Keller L., Engel P.
ISSN
2150-7511 (Electronic)
Publication state
Published
Issued date
11/09/2024
Peer-reviewed
Oui
Volume
15
Number
9
Pages
e0103424
Language
english
Notes
Publication types: Journal Article
Publication Status: ppublish
Abstract
Gut microbes can impact cognition and behavior, but whether they regulate the division of labor in animal societies is unknown. We addressed this question using honeybees since they exhibit division of labor between nurses and foragers and because their gut microbiota can be manipulated. Using automated behavioral tracking and controlling for co-housing effects, we show that gut microbes influence the age at which bees start expressing foraging-like behaviors in the laboratory but have no effects on the time spent in a foraging arena and number of foraging trips. Moreover, the gut microbiota did not influence hallmarks of behavioral maturation such as body weight, cuticular hydrocarbon profile, hypopharyngeal gland size, gene expression, and the proportion of bees maturing into foragers. Overall, this study shows that the honeybee gut microbiota plays a role in controlling the onset of foraging-related behavior without permanent consequences on colony-level division of labor and several physiological hallmarks of behavioral maturation.
The honeybee is emerging as a model system for studying gut microbiota-host interactions. Previous studies reported gut microbiota effects on multiple worker bee phenotypes, all of which change during behavioral maturation-the transition from nursing to foraging. We tested whether the documented effects may stem from an effect of the microbiota on behavioral maturation. The gut microbiota only subtly affected maturation: it accelerated the onset of foraging without affecting the overall proportion of foragers or their average output. We also found no effect of the microbiota on host weight, cuticular hydrocarbon (CHC) profile, hypopharyngeal gland size, and the expression of behavioral maturation-related genes. These results are inconsistent with previous studies reporting effects of the gut microbiota on bee weight and CHC profile. Our experiments revealed that co-housed bees tend to converge in behavior and physiology, suggesting that spurious associations may emerge when rearing environments are not replicated sufficiently or accounted for analytically.
Keywords
Animals, Bees/microbiology, Bees/physiology, Gastrointestinal Microbiome/physiology, Feeding Behavior, Behavior, Animal, Apis mellifera, behavioral development, behavioral maturation, microorganisms, social behavior, symbiosis
Pubmed
Web of science
Open Access
Yes
Create date
05/08/2024 15:51
Last modification date
24/09/2024 6:19
Usage data