Unveiling the Cultivation-Dependent Gut Bacterial Microbiota in the Feral Stingless Bee, Tetragonula iridipennis Smith (hymenoptera: Apidae)

The feral stingless bee, Tetragonula iridipennis, is a vital pollinator in diverse ecosystems and produces valuable honey with unique characteristics. This study aimed to explore the gut microbiota of T. iridipennis by identifying and characterizing its bacterial communities and examining the inter...

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Main Authors: B. SAAIVIGNESH, J. Jayaraj, R. Nalini, K. Kumutha, M. R. Srinivasan, M. Jayakanthan, K. Suresh, P. Sabatina
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Universidade Estadual de Feira de Santana 2025-07-01
Series:Sociobiology
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Online Access:https://periodicos.uefs.br/index.php/sociobiology/article/view/11205
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author B. SAAIVIGNESH
J. Jayaraj
R. Nalini
K. Kumutha
M. R. Srinivasan
M. Jayakanthan
K. Suresh
P. Sabatina
author_facet B. SAAIVIGNESH
J. Jayaraj
R. Nalini
K. Kumutha
M. R. Srinivasan
M. Jayakanthan
K. Suresh
P. Sabatina
author_sort B. SAAIVIGNESH
collection DOAJ
description The feral stingless bee, Tetragonula iridipennis, is a vital pollinator in diverse ecosystems and produces valuable honey with unique characteristics. This study aimed to explore the gut microbiota of T. iridipennis by identifying and characterizing its bacterial communities and examining the interactions between gut bacteria and pathogens. Total Plate counts (TPC) were assessed after a day of incubation on nutrient agar at 37 °C, revealing the highest TPC from SL1 (7.00 ± 0.03 log cfu/ml) and the lowest from SL3 (6.79 ± 0.04 log cfu/ml). Eleven bacterial isolates were recovered and classified through morphological characterization and Gram staining. All bacterial isolates were subject to antimicrobial assessment against infective bacteria. The isolates SB1, SB4, SBT2, and SBM1 showed better antagonistic effect (12.67 ± 2.08; 11.33 ± 1.53; 10.67 ± 4.16 and 9.67 ± 1.53 mm) among the eleven isolates against the pathogen Staphylococcus aureus, respectively. These selected isolates were taken into molecular characterization through 16S rRNA gene sequencing. The amplified 1500 base pair fragments showed more than 98% similarity with known sequences in the GenBank database. The isolates were identified as Bacillus subtilis (SB1), Bacillus tropicus (SB4), Clostridium tunisiense (SBT2), and Citrobacter freundii (SBM1). The phylogenetic analysis using MEGA 11 and BLASTn revealed that B. subtilis SB(CM)-1 had 77% similarity with B. subtilis C785F of South Korea, B. tropicus SB(OD)-1 had 69% similarity with B. tropicus SA39 from Pakistan, C. tunisiense SB(TK)-2 had 100% similarity with C. tunisiense from Japan, and Citrobacter freundii SCF(CM)-2 had 100% similarity with Citrobacter sp. from Brazil.
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issn 0361-6525
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language English
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publisher Universidade Estadual de Feira de Santana
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spelling doaj-art-cc2e484813444c9eb182e528db4c52282025-08-20T03:28:59ZengUniversidade Estadual de Feira de SantanaSociobiology0361-65252447-80672025-07-0172310.13102/sociobiology.v72i3.11205Unveiling the Cultivation-Dependent Gut Bacterial Microbiota in the Feral Stingless Bee, Tetragonula iridipennis Smith (hymenoptera: Apidae)B. SAAIVIGNESH0J. Jayaraj1R. Nalini2K. Kumutha3M. R. Srinivasan4M. Jayakanthan5K. Suresh6P. Sabatina7Department of Agricultural Entomology, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Madurai, Tamil Nadu, IndiaAgricultural College and Research Institute, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Chettinad, Tamil Nadu, IndiaDepartment of Agricultural Entomology, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Madurai, Tamil Nadu, IndiaDepartment of Agricultural Microbiology, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Madurai, Tamil Nadu, IndiaDepartment of Agricultural Entomology, Agricultural College and Research Institute, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, IndiaDepartment of Bioinformatics, Agricultural College and Research Institute, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, India.Department of Agricultural Entomology, ICAR-KVK, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Madurai, Tamil Nadu, IndiaDepartment of Agricultural Entomology, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, India The feral stingless bee, Tetragonula iridipennis, is a vital pollinator in diverse ecosystems and produces valuable honey with unique characteristics. This study aimed to explore the gut microbiota of T. iridipennis by identifying and characterizing its bacterial communities and examining the interactions between gut bacteria and pathogens. Total Plate counts (TPC) were assessed after a day of incubation on nutrient agar at 37 °C, revealing the highest TPC from SL1 (7.00 ± 0.03 log cfu/ml) and the lowest from SL3 (6.79 ± 0.04 log cfu/ml). Eleven bacterial isolates were recovered and classified through morphological characterization and Gram staining. All bacterial isolates were subject to antimicrobial assessment against infective bacteria. The isolates SB1, SB4, SBT2, and SBM1 showed better antagonistic effect (12.67 ± 2.08; 11.33 ± 1.53; 10.67 ± 4.16 and 9.67 ± 1.53 mm) among the eleven isolates against the pathogen Staphylococcus aureus, respectively. These selected isolates were taken into molecular characterization through 16S rRNA gene sequencing. The amplified 1500 base pair fragments showed more than 98% similarity with known sequences in the GenBank database. The isolates were identified as Bacillus subtilis (SB1), Bacillus tropicus (SB4), Clostridium tunisiense (SBT2), and Citrobacter freundii (SBM1). The phylogenetic analysis using MEGA 11 and BLASTn revealed that B. subtilis SB(CM)-1 had 77% similarity with B. subtilis C785F of South Korea, B. tropicus SB(OD)-1 had 69% similarity with B. tropicus SA39 from Pakistan, C. tunisiense SB(TK)-2 had 100% similarity with C. tunisiense from Japan, and Citrobacter freundii SCF(CM)-2 had 100% similarity with Citrobacter sp. from Brazil. https://periodicos.uefs.br/index.php/sociobiology/article/view/1120516S rRNA gene sequencingBacillus sp.Clostridium sp.Citrobacter sp.Social insectstingless bee gut bacteria
spellingShingle B. SAAIVIGNESH
J. Jayaraj
R. Nalini
K. Kumutha
M. R. Srinivasan
M. Jayakanthan
K. Suresh
P. Sabatina
Unveiling the Cultivation-Dependent Gut Bacterial Microbiota in the Feral Stingless Bee, Tetragonula iridipennis Smith (hymenoptera: Apidae)
Sociobiology
16S rRNA gene sequencing
Bacillus sp.
Clostridium sp.
Citrobacter sp.
Social insect
stingless bee gut bacteria
title Unveiling the Cultivation-Dependent Gut Bacterial Microbiota in the Feral Stingless Bee, Tetragonula iridipennis Smith (hymenoptera: Apidae)
title_full Unveiling the Cultivation-Dependent Gut Bacterial Microbiota in the Feral Stingless Bee, Tetragonula iridipennis Smith (hymenoptera: Apidae)
title_fullStr Unveiling the Cultivation-Dependent Gut Bacterial Microbiota in the Feral Stingless Bee, Tetragonula iridipennis Smith (hymenoptera: Apidae)
title_full_unstemmed Unveiling the Cultivation-Dependent Gut Bacterial Microbiota in the Feral Stingless Bee, Tetragonula iridipennis Smith (hymenoptera: Apidae)
title_short Unveiling the Cultivation-Dependent Gut Bacterial Microbiota in the Feral Stingless Bee, Tetragonula iridipennis Smith (hymenoptera: Apidae)
title_sort unveiling the cultivation dependent gut bacterial microbiota in the feral stingless bee tetragonula iridipennis smith hymenoptera apidae
topic 16S rRNA gene sequencing
Bacillus sp.
Clostridium sp.
Citrobacter sp.
Social insect
stingless bee gut bacteria
url https://periodicos.uefs.br/index.php/sociobiology/article/view/11205
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