Natures wonders: bee hivemate microbiome identification (Introduction)

by David Turell , Wednesday, October 14, 2020, 19:53 (1499 days ago) @ David Turell

A bee knows his mates by the genetic makeup of his microbiome:

https://phys.org/news/2020-10-gut-bacteria-key-bee-id.html

"New research from Washington University in St. Louis shows that honey bees rely on chemical cues related to their shared gut microbial communities, instead of genetic relatedness, to identify members of their colony.

"'Most people only pay attention to the genetics of the actual bee," said Yehuda Ben-Shahar, professor of biology in Arts & Sciences and corresponding author of the study published Oct. 14 in Science Advances. "What we show is that it is genetic, but it's the genetics of the bacteria."

"Honey bees recognize and respond to chemical signals from other bees that they detect from skin compounds known as cuticular hydrocarbons, or CHCs. This study determined that a bee's particular CHC profile is dependent on its microbiome—the bacteria that make up its gut microbial community—and is not something innate or genetic to the bee alone.

"'Different colonies do in fact have colony-specific microbiomes, which has never been shown before," said Cassondra L. Vernier, postdoctoral associate at the University of Illinois,

"'Bees are constantly sharing food with one another—and exchanging this microbiome just within their colony," said Vernier, first author of the new study.

***

"'The importance of this paper is that it's one of the first papers that actually shows that the microbiome is involved in the basic social biology of honey bees—and not just affecting their health," Vernier said. "The microbiome is involved in how the colony as a whole functions, and how they are able to maintain nest defenses, rather than just immune defense within an individual."

"The gut microbial community—or microbiome—supplies humans and other animals with vitamins, helps digest food, regulates inflammation and keeps disease-causing microbes in check. Increasingly a topic of research interest, scientists have discovered many ways that the microbiome blurs the borders between a host and its bacteria.

"The microbiome has been found to influence communication in several different organisms—including, notably, large animals like hyenas.

"For honey bees, this study shows that the microbiome plays a critical role in defining the tightly regulated chemical signals for group membership."

Comment: Once again the fact that bacteria are still here is in their importance to more complex evolved forms. The designer knew exactly what He was doing as He started with bacteria.