Meeting Abstract
On nearly every surface and inside nearly every organism there are millions of tiny microbes that are invisible to the naked eye. These tiny microbes include bacteria, fungi, viruses, and millions of yet uncharacterized species. Some of these microbes, known as symbionts, live in symbiosis on or within other organisms. Honeybees (Apis mellifera), like most insects, host symbionts in their guts. Previous research has identified and characterized nine bacterial species clusters that dominate the gut microbiome of honeybees. While the microbes in their hives and honey have not been as well characterized, we know that honeybees come into contact with a variety of microbes while collecting nectar in order to produce honey. The different species of these microbes that are present may depend on the season and region the hives that the honeybees are located in, as well as the gut microbial composition of worker bees in the hive. What microbial symbionts are present in honey? Are these symbionts different as the seasons change? Are there differences among hives in different regions? How are these microbes related to the ones present in the guts of honeybees? In this study, DNA meta-barcoding will be used to assess whether there are regional and temporal differences in the symbiotic environment of the guts of worker bees and the symbionts in stored honey.
