Apis cerana gut microbiota contribute to host health though stimulating host immune system and strengthening host resistance to Nosema ceranae

• Main Authors: Yuqi Wu, Yufei Zheng, Yanan Chen, Gongwen Chen, Huoqing Zheng, Fuliang Hu
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: The Royal Society 2020-05-01
• Series: Royal Society Open Science
• Subjects: apis cerana; gut microbiota; antimicrobial peptide; immune system; nosema ceranae
• Online Access: https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/pdf/10.1098/rsos.192100

Gut microbial communities play vital roles in the modulation of many insects' immunity, including Apis mellifera. However, little is known about the interaction of Apis cerana gut bacteria and A. cerana immune system. Here in this study, we conducted a comparison between germ-free gut microbiota deficient (GD) workers and conventional gut community (CV) workers, to reveal the possible impact of gut microbiota on the expression of A. cerana antimicrobial peptides and immune regulate pathways. We also test whether A. cerana gut microbiota can strengthen host resistance to Nosema ceranae. We find that the expression of apidaecin, abaecin and hymenoptaecin were significantly upregulated with the presence of gut bacteria, and JNK pathway was activated; in the meanwhile, the existence of gut bacteria inhibited the proliferation of Nosema ceranae. These demonstrated the essential role of A. cerana gut microbiota to host health and provided critical insight into the honeybee host–microbiome interaction.