Composition and diversity of bacterial communities associated with honey bee foragers from two contrasting environments

Abstract The honey bee is associated with a diverse community of microbes (viruses, bacteria, fungi, and protists), commonly known as the microbiome. Here, we present data on honey bee microbiota from two localities having different surrounding landscapes – mountain (the Rhodope Mountains) and lowland (the Danube plain). The bacterial communities of abdomen of adult bees were studied using amplicon sequencing of the 16S rRNA gene. The composition and dominance structure and their variability within and between localities, alpha and beta diversity, and core and differential taxa were compared at different hierarchical levels (operational taxonomic units to phylum). Seven genera ( Lactobacillus , Gilliamella , Bifidobacterium , Commensalibacter , Bartonella , Snodgrassella , and Frischella ), known to include core gut-associated phylotypes or species clusters, dominated (92–100%) the bacterial assemblages. Significant variations were found in taxa distribution across both geographical regions and within each apiary. Lactobacillus (Firmicutes) prevailed significantly in the mountain locality followed by Gilliamella and Bartonella (Proteobacteria). Bacteria of four genera, core ( Bartonella and Lactobacillus ) and non-core ( Pseudomonas and Morganella ), dominated the bee-associated assemblages of the Danube plain locality. Several ubiquitous bacterial genera (e.g., Klebsiella , Serratia , and Providencia ), some species known also as potential and opportunistic bee pathogens, had been found in the lowland locality. Beta diversity analyses confirmed the observed differences in the bacterial communities from both localities. The occurrence of non-core taxa contributes substantially to higher microbial richness and diversity in bees from the Danube plain locality. We assume that the observed differences in the microbiota of honey bees from both apiaries are due to a combination of factors specific for each region. The surrounding landscape features of both localities and related vegetation, anthropogenic impact and land use intensity, the beekeeping management practices, and bee health status might all contribute to observed differences in bee microbiota traits.