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pH-mediated inhibition of a bumble bee parasite by an intestinal symbiont

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  24 September 2018

Evan C. Palmer-Young Open the ORCID record for Evan C. Palmer-Young [Opens in a new window] ,
Thomas R. Raffel  and
Quinn S. McFrederick
Evan C. Palmer-Young*
Affiliation:
Department of Entomology, University of California Riverside, Riverside, CA, USA
Thomas R. Raffel
Affiliation:
Department of Biology, Oakland University, Rochester, MI, USA
Quinn S. McFrederick
Affiliation:
Department of Entomology, University of California Riverside, Riverside, CA, USA
*
Author for correspondence: Evan C. Palmer-Young, E-mail: ecp52@cornell.edu
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Abstract

Gut symbionts can augment resistance to pathogens by stimulating host-immune responses, competing for space and nutrients, or producing antimicrobial metabolites. Gut microbiota of social bees, which pollinate many crops and wildflowers, protect hosts against diverse infections and might counteract pathogen-related bee declines. Bumble bee gut microbiota, and specifically abundance of Lactobacillus ‘Firm-5’ bacteria, can enhance resistance to the trypanosomatid parasite Crithidia bombi. However, the mechanism underlying this effect remains unknown. We hypothesized that the Firm-5 bacterium Lactobacillus bombicola, which produces lactic acid, inhibits C. bombi via pH-mediated effects. Consistent with our hypothesis, L. bombicola spent medium inhibited C. bombi growth via reduction in pH that was both necessary and sufficient for inhibition. Inhibition of all parasite strains occurred within the pH range documented in honey bees, though sensitivity to acidity varied among strains. Spent medium was slightly more potent than HCl, d- and l-lactic acids for a given pH, suggesting that other metabolites also contribute to inhibition. Results implicate symbiont-mediated reduction in gut pH as a key determinant of trypanosomatid infection in bees. Future investigation into in vivo effects of gut microbiota on pH and infection intensity would test the relevance of these findings for bees threatened by trypanosomatids.

Keywords

Cell-free supernatantcompetitionFirmicutesflagellateslactic acid bacteriamicrobiomeparasite strain variationpH-dependent interactionspollinator declineTrypanosomatidae
Type
Research Article
Information
Parasitology , Volume 146 , Issue 3 , March 2019 , pp. 380 - 388
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Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2018 

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