[{"command":"openDialog","selector":"#drupal-modal","settings":null,"data":"\u003Cdiv id=\u0022republish_modal_form\u0022\u003E\u003Cform class=\u0022modal-form-example-modal-form ecl-form\u0022 data-drupal-selector=\u0022modal-form-example-modal-form\u0022 action=\u0022\/en\/article\/modal\/10503\u0022 method=\u0022post\u0022 id=\u0022modal-form-example-modal-form\u0022 accept-charset=\u0022UTF-8\u0022\u003E\u003Cp\u003EHorizon articles can be republished for free under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) licence.\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cp\u003EYou must give appropriate credit. We ask you to do this by:\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n 1) Using the original journalist\u0027s byline\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n 2) Linking back to our original story\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n 3) Using the following text in the footer: This article was originally published in \u003Ca href=\u0027#\u0027\u003EHorizon, the EU Research and Innovation magazine\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cp\u003ESee our full republication guidelines \u003Ca href=\u0027\/horizon-magazine\/republish-our-stories\u0027\u003Ehere\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cp\u003EHTML for this article, including the attribution and page view counter, is below:\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\u0022js-form-item form-item js-form-type-textarea form-item-body-content js-form-item-body-content ecl-form-group ecl-form-group--text-area form-no-label ecl-u-mv-m\u0022\u003E\n \n\u003Cdiv\u003E\n \u003Ctextarea data-drupal-selector=\u0022edit-body-content\u0022 aria-describedby=\u0022edit-body-content--description\u0022 id=\u0022edit-body-content\u0022 name=\u0022body_content\u0022 rows=\u00225\u0022 cols=\u002260\u0022 class=\u0022form-textarea ecl-text-area\u0022\u003E\u003Ch2\u003EFacing external threats, bees may get help from internal organisms \u003C\/h2\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAwareness is growing worldwide of the crucial role that bees and other pollinators play in preserving natural habitats and securing food supplies. In the run-up to\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.fao.org\/world-bee-day\/en\/\u0022\u003EWorld Bee Day\u003C\/a\u003E on 20 May, Horizon Magazine takes a closer look at how microorganisms in a bee gut are key to ensuring the insects\u2019 \u2013 and the planet\u2019s\u0026nbsp;\u2013 future.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EWith \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.weforum.org\/agenda\/2019\/12\/protect-pollinators-food-security-biodiversity-agriculture\/\u0022\u003Ethree-quarters of global food crops\u003C\/a\u003E depending on pollinators to some extent, ensuring the wellbeing of these resourceful insects as they confront habitat loss, pollution and pesticides will be central to improving food provisions in years to come.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cb\u003EEasy honeybee\u003C\/b\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EFor bees as well as humans, a healthy digestive tract could go a long way towards enhancing longevity. That\u2019s why researchers are studying the mysterious inner microbiome in bees\u2019 guts to learn more about their resistance to diseases and how best to protect against sickness.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003E\u2018The gut microbiota is important for protecting bees against pathogens,\u2019 said Dr Am\u00e9lie Cabirol, a postdoctoral researcher in honeybee health at the University of Lausanne in Switzerland. \u2018We need to understand all the determinants of the bee\u2019s physiology to be able to say \u201cThis is the ID card of a healthy bee.\u201d\u2019\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EIn the world of honeybees, \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/a-z-animals.com\/blog\/honey-bee-lifespan-how-long-do-honey-bees-live\/\u0022\u003Eaverage lifespans\u003C\/a\u003E can range from eight weeks to five years depending on the type of bee. Worker bees die within months while queen bees can live for years.\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EA honeybee\u2019s gut is relatively straightforward to study because it is dominated by specialised communities of only around nine bacterial species. That means they could serve as a good basis for learning more about microbiome in other species too, including humans.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003ESome pesticides and herbicides affect the gut microbiota of bees. Pesticides called neonicotinoids have often been implicated in pollinator declines. While their use outdoors was banned in the EU in 2018, exemptions have been granted before \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.euractiv.com\/section\/agriculture-food\/news\/commission-moves-towards-halting-emergency-use-of-all-banned-pesticides\/\u0022\u003Erecent attempts to end the practice\u003C\/a\u003E.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EChanges to what\u2019s in a bee\u2019s gut aren\u2019t always lethal but can still hamper the ability to pollinate. \u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EBacteria-memory link\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003E\u2018There is growing evidence that having a disturbed gut microbiota will impact on bees\u2019 learning and memory performance,\u2019 said Cabirol. \u2018Such cognitive abilities are important for bees to associate odours with nectar they get from flowers and therefore remember the best food sources in their environment.\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EThe EU-funded \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/cordis.europa.eu\/project\/id\/892574\u0022\u003EHarmHoney \u003C\/a\u003Eproject that she worked on investigated bee gut health using genetic sequencing and the study of small molecules involved in metabolism within cells. The initiative ran from May 2020 until October 2022.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cblockquote class=\u0022tw-text-center tw-text-blue tw-font-bold tw-text-2xl lg:tw-w-1\/2 tw-border-2 tw-border-blue tw-p-12 tw-my-8 lg:tw-m-12 lg:tw--ml-16 tw-float-left\u0022\u003E\n \u003Cspan class=\u0022tw-text-5xl tw-rotate-180\u0022\u003E\u201c\u003C\/span\u003E\n \u003Cp class=\u0022tw-font-serif tw-italic\u0022\u003EWe need to understand all the determinants of the bee\u2019s physiology.\r\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cfooter\u003E\n \u003Ccite class=\u0022tw-not-italic tw-font-normal tw-text-sm tw-text-black\u0022\u003EDr Am\u00e9lie Cabirol, HarmHoney\u003C\/cite\u003E\n \u003C\/footer\u003E\n\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003ECabirol\u2019s team found that honeybees \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.biorxiv.org\/content\/10.1101\/2023.01.03.522593v1\u0022\u003Elearned and memorised information\u003C\/a\u003E better when their gut contained five types of core bacteria than when they contained just one or none.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EThat suggests performance is improved by interactions between microbe types. The next step will be to test various combinations to pinpoint what\u2019s happening.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003E\u2018Now, we can only say that each microbial member on its own is not sufficient to promote these cognitive abilities, but we cannot yet say if every member is necessary for this,\u2019 said Cabirol.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EAlthough \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.nature.com\/articles\/s41598-022-25290-3\u0022\u003Erecent research\u003C\/a\u003E suggests honeybees have been on the rise over the past decades, she said that individual colonies can still suffer severe losses and hopes that HarmHoney\u2019s findings can be applied to other threatened bee species.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EFor example, \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/journals.asm.org\/doi\/10.1128\/mbio.03538-22?url_ver=Z39.88-2003\u0026amp;rfr_id=ori:rid:crossref.org\u0026amp;rfr_dat=cr_pub%20%200pubmed\u0022\u003Estudies \u003C\/a\u003Ecarried out by her colleagues at the University of Lausanne have started to unravel more about the diversity in the gut microbiomes of so-called stingless bees.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EThe relative ease of studying honeybees as a result of factors like their widespread global presence makes them good test cases, according to Cabirol.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003E\u2018Honeybee colony losses raise the alarm that other non-managed bee populations may be suffering from similar stressors,\u2019 she said. \u2018Understanding the causes of colony collapse is critical for identifying stressors that may affect all pollinators, and should help improve agriculture and beekeeping practices.\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cb\u003EParasite problem\u003C\/b\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EAmong the stressors facing honeybees are gut parasites such as Nosema ceranae, which has become \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/2075-4450\/13\/9\/844\u0022\u003Ewidespread globally\u003C\/a\u003E.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EInfection of adult bees at a young age can cause them to have difficulty digesting food for the rest of their lives. Follow-on implications include a shorter lifespan and reduced colony health, population and performance, which can ultimately result in the colony dying.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cblockquote class=\u0022tw-text-center tw-text-blue tw-font-bold tw-text-2xl lg:tw-w-1\/2 tw-border-2 tw-border-blue tw-p-12 tw-my-8 lg:tw-m-12 lg:tw--ml-16 tw-float-left\u0022\u003E\n \u003Cspan class=\u0022tw-text-5xl tw-rotate-180\u0022\u003E\u201c\u003C\/span\u003E\n \u003Cp class=\u0022tw-font-serif tw-italic\u0022\u003EIt looks as though the bee was made to be a model for examining the gut microbiota.\r\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cfooter\u003E\n \u003Ccite class=\u0022tw-not-italic tw-font-normal tw-text-sm tw-text-black\u0022\u003EProfessor Diana Di Gioia, NO PROBleMS\u003C\/cite\u003E\n \u003C\/footer\u003E\n\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EThe antibiotic fumagillin has historically been deployed against Nosema species, but its use has been restricted in Europe as a result of bans on antibiotics in beekeeping and \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.frontiersin.org\/articles\/10.3389\/fvets.2019.00079\/full#B38\u0022\u003Esome studies\u003C\/a\u003E have questioned how well it actually works in Nosema ceranae. That calls for new methods of prevention.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003E\u2018We have to find natural solutions that do not create problems for bees and the environment,\u2019 said Professor Diana Di Gioia, an agricultural microbiologist at the University of Bologna in Italy.\u0026nbsp; \u2018The concept is that, if the host has an increased composition of beneficial bacteria, it can react better to parasites.\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EShe has led the EU-funded \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/cordis.europa.eu\/project\/id\/777760\u0022\u003ENO PROBleMS\u003C\/a\u003E project looking into potential new eco-friendly gut treatments for strengthening bees\u2019 resilience to disease. The initiative, which began in 2018, has been extended beyond a March 2023 end date.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EDuring the project, the team has conducted DNA-based studies involving both bacterial solutions and plant-derived products in the lab and in the field in Ireland, Italy, Malta and Argentina to study their effectiveness under varying climates and levels of infection.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ESecret formula\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EThe researchers have found that a formula containing a mixture of two types of beneficial microorganisms seemed to lead to a \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/link.springer.com\/article\/10.1007\/s12602-022-10025-7\u0022\u003Ereduction\u003C\/a\u003E in Nosema ceranae.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EThe team has now developed a prototype formulation based on probiotic microorganisms and plant-derived molecules. The idea is that this formulation, for which a patent is being sought, can be fed to bees in their food and help improve their balance of microbiota.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EThe hope is to run a follow-up project in which the formulation can be tested under different conditions and doses to hone it and pinpoint the best application methods.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003EApart from the benefits to bees, research into them may be very useful for examining the gut microbiome and its evolution more widely.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003E\u2018With honeybees, we have this powerful tool,\u2019\u0026nbsp;Di Gioia said. \u2018It looks as though the bee was made to be a model for examining the gut microbiota.\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cem\u003EResearch in this article was funded via the EU\u2019s Marie Sk\u0142odowska-Curie Actions (MSCA). 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