Increased Honey Bee Diversity Means Fewer Pathogens, More Helpful Bacteria

ScienceDaily (Mar. 12, 2012) — A novel study of honey bee genetic diversity co-authored by an Indiana University biologist has for the first time found that greater diversity in worker bees leads to colonies with fewer pathogens and more abundant helpful bacteria like probiotic species. 


Led by IU Bloomington assistant professor Irene L.G. Newton and Wellesley College assistant professor Heather Mattila, and co-authors from Wellesley College and the Netherlands Organisation for Applied Scientific Research, the new work describes the communities of active bacteria harbored by honey bee colonies. The study, which was conducted at Wellesley College in 2010, is also the first to identify four important microbes in bee colonies that have previously been associated with fermentation in humans and other animals: Succinivibrio (associated with cow rumens), Oenococcus (wine fermentation), Paralactobacillus (food fermentation) and Bifidobacterium (yogurt). Newton, who joined the IU College of Arts and Sciences' Department of Biology last year, said the research suggests honey bees may take advantage of these beneficial symbiotic bacteria to convert indigestible material into nutritious food and to enhance protection from pathogens. 


Read on:  http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/03/120312192756.htm