Further evidences of an emerging stingless bee-yeast symbiosis

Frontiers in Microbiology

Microbiology

Cristiano Menezes¹  Carlos Augusto Rosa²  Ivan de Castro³  Mônica Tallarico Pupo⁴  Gabriela Toninato de Paula⁴  Weilan Gomes da Paixão Melo⁵  Camila Raquel Paludo⁶ 

[1] Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation, Jaguariúna, Brazil;Departamento de Microbiologia, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Brazil;Department of Genetics, Faculty of Medicine of Ribeirão Preto, University of São Paulo, Ribeirão Preto, Brazil;Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences of Ribeirão Preto, University of São Paulo, Ribeirão Preto, Brazil;Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences of Ribeirão Preto, University of São Paulo, Ribeirão Preto, Brazil;Center for Agricultural and Natural Sciences and Letters, State University of the Tocantina Region of Maranhão, Estreito, Brazil;Institute of Biological and Health Sciences, Federal University of Mato Grosso, Barra do Garças, Brazil;

关键词: stingless bees;    fungi;    yeast;    Zygosaccharomyces;    symbiosis;    brood cell;   

DOI  :  10.3389/fmicb.2023.1221724

 received in 2023-05-12, accepted in 2023-07-24,  发布年份 2023

来源: Frontiers

【 摘 要 】

Symbiotic interactions between microorganisms and social insects have been described as crucial for the maintenance of these multitrophic systems, as observed for the stingless bee Scaptotrigona depilis and the yeast Zygosaccharomyces sp. SDBC30G1. The larvae of S. depilis ingest fungal filaments of Zygosaccharomyces sp. SDBC30G1 to obtain ergosterol, which is the precursor for the biosynthesis of ecdysteroids that modulate insect metamorphosis. In this work, we find a similar insect-microbe interaction in other species of stingless bees. We analyzed brood cell samples from 19 species of stingless bees collected in Brazil. The osmophilic yeast Zygosaccharomyces spp. was isolated from eight bee species, namely Scaptotrigona bipunctata, S. postica, S. tubiba, Tetragona clavipes, Melipona quadrifasciata, M. fasciculata, M. bicolor, and Partamona helleri. These yeasts form pseudohyphae and also accumulate ergosterol in lipid droplets, similar to the pattern observed for S. depilis. The phylogenetic analyses including various Zygosaccharomyces revealed that strains isolated from the brood cells formed a branch separated from the previously described Zygosaccharomyces species, suggesting that they are new species of this genus and reinforcing the symbiotic interaction with the host insects.

【 授权许可】

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Copyright © 2023 de Paula, Melo, Castro, Menezes, Paludo, Rosa and Pupo.