Impact of chronic exposure to field-level glyphosate on the gut microbiota of Apis cerana and Apis mellifera
Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: Glyphosate (GLY) stands as one of the most extensively used pesticides globally. Although several studies have investigated the effects of sublethal doses of GLY on the gut microbiota of bees, limited information is available on how residual concentrations of GLY in bee food affect Apis cerana (Asian honey bees) and Apis mellifera (European honey bees) at different time points. To explore these effects, we employed 16S rRNA Illumina sequencing technology to evaluate the consequences of chronic GLY exposure (0.7 mg/kg, GLY residual in beebread) on the gut microbiome of A. cerana and A. mellifera on days 3 and 12 of the exposure period. Even though our findings revealed no significant difference in the microbiota abundance between control bees and GLY-treated bees on the 3rd day, GLY-treated bees exhibited 55.56 % abundance of the genus Snodgrassella (a core gut bacterium) and 4.54 % of the genus Commensalibacter (a non-core gut bacterium) compared to control bees in A. cerana and A. mellifera , respectively. In addition, our results showed that a noticeable trend indicated that the gut of A. mellifera was more susceptible to GLY than that of A. cerana . Considering the vital role of gut microbiota in the health of honey bee colonies, our results suggest that 0.7 mg/kg of GLY are likely to have adverse effects on the health of honey bees. • Chronic exposure to 0.7 mg/kg glyphosate altered gut microbiota in Apis cerana and Apis mellifera . • In A. cerana , glyphosate-treated bees showed a 55.56 % reduction in Snodgrassella compared with controls. • In A. mellifera , glyphosate-treated bees showed only 4.54 % Commensalibacter abundance versus controls. • A noticeable trend indicated that the gut of A. mellifera is more susceptible to glyphosate than that of A. cerana .
Authors: Changsheng Ma, Sihao Chen, Xiaoyu Shi, Lianyang Bai, Hongmei Li-Byarlay, Zuren Li
Institutions: Hunan Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Southwest University, University of Liverpool, Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Institute of Zoology, Key Laboratory of Zoological Systematics and Evolution, Central State University
Language: English
Subfield: Insect Science
Domain: Life Sciences
SDG: Zero hunger
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $3,650
Funders: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Natural Science Foundation of Hunan Province, Agriculture Research System of China, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs of the People's Republic of China, Science and Technology Program of Hunan Province, National Institute of Food and Agriculture, Science and Technology Innovative Research Team in Higher Educational Institutions of Hunan Province
OpenAlex ID: W4414399694