Dimensions: Genomics, functional roles, and diversity of the symbiotic gut microbiotae of honey bees and bumble bees

微生物肠道共生体是大多数动物物种生活所必需的，但其多样性和在宿主中的功能及其对生态干扰的反应却知之甚少。意大利蜜蜂（Apis mellifera）拥有一套独特的共生细菌，大约有八种;其中一些也出现在其他蜜蜂物种和相关的熊蜂属（Bombus）中。这项研究整合了这些蜜蜂肠道共生体生物多样性的基因组，分类和功能方面。这项研究将确定这些细菌物种的基因组序列和代谢能力，并探索当宿主受到不同环境的影响时，它们的丰度和基因表达如何反应。将在营养胁迫和病原体挑战下通过实验评估改变的微生物群对宿主适应性的影响。该研究还将描述全球采集的熊蜂和蜜蜂物种的微生物群的分类组成，重点是北美和中国。这些传粉物种具有巨大的经济，生态和农业重要性;该项目将为它们的肠道微生物介导的生态恢复力提供新的见解。这些数据将为蜜蜂保护和土地管理政策提供信息。这一努力还将与中国科学家建立合作交流。几名不同级别的美国学生将接受培训。高中学生研究人员和教育活动将通过皮博迪博物馆在纽黑文，CT赞助。将建立一个大型的全球冻存蜜蜂收集库，作为未来蜜蜂种群变化的参考资源。总的来说，这项研究将为这些重要的传粉者及其共生微生物生物多样性的生物学提供新的见解。

Microbial gut symbionts are essential for the life of most animal species, but their diversity and functions in hosts and their responses to ecological disturbance are poorly understood. Apis mellifera, the honeybee, possesses a distinctive set of about eight symbiotic bacterial species; some of these also occur in other Apis species and in the related genus Bombus (bumblebees). This study integrates the genomic, taxonomic and functional dimensions of the biodiversity of gut symbionts in these bees. The research will determine genome sequences and metabolic capabilities for these bacterial species and probe how their abundances and gene expression respond when hosts are subjected to different environments. The consequences of altered microbiota for host fitness will be experimentally assessed under nutrient stress and pathogen challenge. The study will also characterize the taxonomic composition of the microbiota of Bombus and Apis species collected globally, with emphasis on North America and China.These pollinator species have immense economic, ecological, and agricultural importance; this project will provide new insights into their ecological resilience as mediated by their gut microbes. The data will inform bee conservation and land management policies. This effort will also establish a collaborative exchange with Chinese scientists. Several US students, at different levels, will be trained. High school student researchers and educational activities will be sponsored through the Peabody Museum in New Haven, CT. A large global collection of cryopreserved bees will be established to serve as a reference resource for future changes in bee populations. Overall, this research will provide novel insights into the biology of these important pollinators and their symbiotic microbial biodiversity.