Life history strategies complement niche partitioning to support the coexistence of closely related Gilliamella species in the bee gut.

The maintenance of bacterial diversity at both species and strain levels is crucial for the sustainability of honey bee gut microbiota and host health. Periodic or random fluctuation in diet typically alters the metabolic niches available to gut microbes, thereby continuously reshaping bacterial diversity and interspecific interactions. It remains unclear how closely related bacteria adapt to these fluctuations and maintain coexistence within the bee gut.

Firm-5-derived succinate prevents honeybees from having diabetes-like symptoms.

The gut microbiome plays an important role in honeybee hormonal regulation and growth, but the underlying mechanisms are poorly understood. Here, we showed that the depletion of gut bacteria resulted in reduced expression of insulin-like peptide gene () in the head, accompanied by metabolic syndromes resembling those of Type 1 diabetes in humans: hyperglycemia, impaired lipid storage, and decreased metabolism. These symptoms were alleviated by gut bacterial inoculation.

Synergistic pectin deconstruction is a prerequisite for mutualistic interactions between honeybee gut bacteria.

The honeybee gut microbiome is crucial for degrading diverse pollen glycans. Yet it is unclear how this process shapes the interactions among bacteria. Here, we demonstrate a conditional mutualistic interaction between strains of two honeybee gut bacteria Bifidobacterium asteroides and Gilliamella apicola.

A review on recent taxonomic updates of gut bacteria associated with social bees, with a curated genomic reference database.

Honeybees and bumblebees play a crucial role as essential pollinators. The special gut microbiome of social bees is a key factor in determining the overall fitness and health of the host. Although bees harbor relatively simple microbial communities at the genus level, recent studies have unveiled significant genetic divergence and variations in gene content within each bacterial genus.

Two insulin receptors coordinate oogenesis and oviposition via two pathways in the green lacewing, Chrysopa pallens.

Insulin signalling in insects, as in mammals, regulates various physiological functions, such as reproduction. However, the molecular mechanism by which insulin signals orchestrate ovarian stem cell proliferation, vitellogenesis, and oviposition remains elusive. Here, we investigate the functions of the phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K)-serine/threonine kinase (Akt) pathway, GTPase Ras/mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) pathway, and their downstream messengers in a natural predator, Chrysopa pallens, by the RNAi method.

Division of labor in honey bee gut microbiota for plant polysaccharide digestion.

Bees acquire carbohydrates from nectar and lipids; and amino acids from pollen, which also contains polysaccharides including cellulose, hemicellulose, and pectin. These potential energy sources could be degraded and fermented through microbial enzymatic activity, resulting in short chain fatty acids available to hosts. However, the contributions of individual microbiota members to polysaccharide digestion have remained unclear.

Nutritional and reproductive signaling revealed by comparative gene expression analysis in Chrysopa pallens (Rambur) at different nutritional statuses.

Background: The green lacewing, Chrysopa pallens Rambur, is one of the most important natural predators because of its extensive spectrum of prey and wide distribution. However, what we know about the nutritional and reproductive physiology of this species is very scarce.

Results: By cDNA amplification and Illumina short-read sequencing, we analyzed transcriptomes of C.