ABS 2023
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The Potential To Manipulate The Brain-Gut Axis Of Western Honey Bees To Promote Hygienic Behaviour
Sophie M Killam1, Brendan A Daisley 1,2, Graham J Thompson1. 1Western University, London, Ontario, Canada; 2University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario, Canada

Honey bees, Apis mellifera, live in densely populated colonies and are therefore highly susceptible to disease. To mitigate the spread of infection, colonies can detect and remove diseased brood from their hive, but maintaining this trait within apiaries is challenging for beekeepers. One solution may be stimulating the hygienic response by heightening bee sensitivity to disease cues through manipulation of the brain-gut axis. Here, we fed bees specific bacterial species that may have neurostimulatory effects and tested if they performed better in a freeze-kill brood assay designed to measure the hygienic response. We found that, despite a high level of baseline variability in the bees’ innate hygienic response, colonies that consumed 1x109 CFU/g of Bifidobacterium asteroides and Lactiplantibacillus plantarum became acutely more hygienic. However, this effect was not sustained after one week despite subsequent treatments. Our initial results suggest a link between the bee gut microbiome and the colony-wide response to disease that is highly relevant to beekeeping but we are not yet able to recommend a particular treatment.