(More than) Hitchhikers through the network: The shared microbiome of bees and flowers

Alexander Keller, Quinn S. McFrederick, Prarthana Dharampal, Shawn Steffan, Bryan N. Danforth, Sara D. Leonhardt

Research output: Contribution to journalReview articlepeer-review

62 Scopus citations

Abstract

Growing evidence reveals strong overlap between microbiomes of flowers and bees, suggesting that flowers are hubs of microbial transmission. Whether floral transmission is the main driver of bee microbiome assembly, and whether functional importance of florally sourced microbes shapes bee foraging decisions are intriguing questions that remain unanswered. We suggest that interaction network properties, such as nestedness, connectedness, and modularity, as well as specialization patterns can predict potential transmission routes of microbes between hosts. Yet microbial filtering by plant and bee hosts determines realized microbial niches. Functionally, shared floral microbes can provide benefits for bees by enhancing nutritional quality, detoxification, and disintegration of pollen. Flower microbes can also alter the attractiveness of floral resources. Together, these mechanisms may affect the structure of the flower-bee interaction network.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)8-15
Number of pages8
JournalCurrent Opinion in Insect Science
Volume44
DOIs
StatePublished - Apr 2021

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