The Bee Microbiome: Impact on Bee Health and Model for Evolution and Ecology of Host-Microbe Interactions
Philipp Engel,
Waldan K. Kwong,
Quinn McFrederick,
Kirk E. Anderson,
Seth Michael Barribeau,
James Angus Chandler,
R. Scott Cornman,
Jacques Dainat,
Joachim R. de Miranda,
Vincent Doublet,
Olivier Emery,
Jay D. Evans,
Laurent Farinelli,
Michelle L. Flenniken,
Fredrik Granberg,
Juris A. Grasis,
Laurent Gauthier,
Juliette Hayer,
Hauke Koch,
Sarah Kocher,
Vincent G. Martinson,
Nancy Moran,
Monica Munoz-Torres,
Irene Newton,
Robert J. Paxton,
Eli Powell,
Ben M. Sadd,
Paul Schmid-Hempel,
Regula Schmid-Hempel,
Se Jin Song,
Ryan S. Schwarz,
Dennis vanEngelsdorp,
Benjamin Dainat
Affiliations
Philipp Engel
Department of Fundamental Microbiology, University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland
Waldan K. Kwong
Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut, USA
Quinn McFrederick
Department of Entomology, University of California, Riverside, California, USA
Kirk E. Anderson
USDA, Carl Hayden Bee Research Center, Tucson, Arizona, USA
Seth Michael Barribeau
Department of Biology, East Carolina University, Greenville, North Carolina, USA
James Angus Chandler
Department of Microbiology, California Academy of Sciences, San Francisco, California, USA
R. Scott Cornman
U.S. Geological Survey, Fort Collins Science Center, Fort Collins, Colorado, USA
Jacques Dainat
Bioinformatics Infrastructure for Life Sciences (BILS), Linköpings Universitet Victoria Westling, Linköping, Sweden, and Department of Medical Biochemistry and Microbiology Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
Joachim R. de Miranda
Department of Ecology, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Uppsala, Sweden
Vincent Doublet
Institute for Biology, Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, Halle, Germany
Olivier Emery
Department of Fundamental Microbiology, University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland
Jay D. Evans
USDA, ARS Bee Research Laboratory, Beltsville, Maryland, USA
Laurent Farinelli
Fasteris SA, Plan -les-Ouates, Switzerland
Michelle L. Flenniken
Department of Plant Sciences and Plant Pathology, Montana State University, Bozeman, Montana, USA
Fredrik Granberg
SLU, BVF, Virologi, Uppsala, Sweden
Juris A. Grasis
Department of Biology, North Life Sciences, San Diego State University, San Diego, California, USA
Laurent Gauthier
Department of Fundamental Microbiology, University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland
Juliette Hayer
SLU, Institutionen för Husdjursgenetik, Uppsala, Sweden
Hauke Koch
Department of Integrative Biology, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas, USA
Sarah Kocher
Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University, Cambridge , Massachusetts , USA
Vincent G. Martinson
Department of Biology, University of Rochester, Rochester, New York, USA
Nancy Moran
Department of Integrative Biology, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas, USA
Monica Munoz-Torres
Environmental Genomics and Systems Biology Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley , California , USA
Irene Newton
Department of Biology, Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana, USA
Robert J. Paxton
Institute for Biology, Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, Halle, Germany
Eli Powell
Department of Integrative Biology, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas, USA
Ben M. Sadd
School of Biological Sciences, Illinois State University, Normal, Illinois, USA
Paul Schmid-Hempel
ETHZ Institut für Integrative Biologie, Zurich, Switzerland
Regula Schmid-Hempel
ETHZ Institut für Integrative Biologie, Zurich, Switzerland
Se Jin Song
University of Colorado at Boulder, Boulder, Colorado, USA
Ryan S. Schwarz
USDA, ARS Bee Research Laboratory, Beltsville, Maryland, USA
Dennis vanEngelsdorp
Department of Entomology, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland, USA
Benjamin Dainat
Agroscope, Swiss Bee Research Centre, Bern, Switzerland
ABSTRACT As pollinators, bees are cornerstones for terrestrial ecosystem stability and key components in agricultural productivity. All animals, including bees, are associated with a diverse community of microbes, commonly referred to as the microbiome. The bee microbiome is likely to be a crucial factor affecting host health. However, with the exception of a few pathogens, the impacts of most members of the bee microbiome on host health are poorly understood. Further, the evolutionary and ecological forces that shape and change the microbiome are unclear. Here, we discuss recent progress in our understanding of the bee microbiome, and we present challenges associated with its investigation. We conclude that global coordination of research efforts is needed to fully understand the complex and highly dynamic nature of the interplay between the bee microbiome, its host, and the environment. High-throughput sequencing technologies are ideal for exploring complex biological systems, including host-microbe interactions. To maximize their value and to improve assessment of the factors affecting bee health, sequence data should be archived, curated, and analyzed in ways that promote the synthesis of different studies. To this end, the BeeBiome consortium aims to develop an online database which would provide reference sequences, archive metadata, and host analytical resources. The goal would be to support applied and fundamental research on bees and their associated microbes and to provide a collaborative framework for sharing primary data from different research programs, thus furthering our understanding of the bee microbiome and its impact on pollinator health.
