# Summary of Scientific Article: Impact of Probiotics and Antibiotics on Honey Bee Gut Microbiome
## 1. Objective and Participants:
- **Objective:** The study aims to investigate the impact of probiotics and antibiotics on the gut microbiome of commercial honey bees.
- **Participants:** The study involves colonies of honey bees managed by commercial beekeepers.
## 2. Probiotics and Antibiotics:
- **Probiotics:** The study uses two commercial probiotics labeled as A and B, containing eight microorganisms, including Lactobacillus acidophilus, Enterococcus faecium, Bifidobacterium bifidum, Lactobacillus plantarum, Bacillus subtilis, Bacillus licheniformis, Bacillus pumilus, and Saccharomyces cerevisiae.
- **Antibiotics:** Antibiotic treatments, oxytetracycline, and tylosin, are applied to combat bacterial infections in the honey bee colonies.
## 3. Experimental Design:
- **Duration:** The study is conducted over a six-month period.
- **Experimental Setup:** Two experiments - the first involves a long-term probiotic treatment, and the second examines the impact of probiotics following antibiotic treatment.
- **Sampling:** Bees are sampled at different time points to assess the effects of probiotics and antibiotics on the gut microbiome.
## 4. Findings:
- **Probiotic Impact:** Probiotic treatments over six months do not result in significant differences in the gut microbiome compared to control colonies.
- **Antibiotic Impact:** Antibiotic treatments cause an immediate decrease in gut microbiome size, and the effects differ between oxytetracycline and tylosin.
- **Probiotic Recovery:** Probiotic application following antibiotic treatment does not show a significant impact on the recovery of the gut microbiome.
## 5. Pathogen Detection:
- **Pathogens:** The study investigates the abundance and prevalence of various pathogens, including bacterial brood diseases and viruses in honey bee colonies.
- **Pathogen Levels:** No significant differences in pathogen abundance are observed between control colonies and those treated with probiotics or antibiotics.
## 6. Microbiome Sequencing:
- **Sequencing Method:** Next-generation sequencing of the 16S rRNA gene is employed to analyze the composition of the gut microbiome.
- **Probiotic Persistence:** Some introduced probiotic bacterial species are not detected in the worker gut, while others have negligible prevalence.
## 7. Conclusion:
- The study concludes that probiotic treatments do not have a significant impact on the gut microbiome of honey bees.
- Antibiotic treatments result in a significant decrease in microbiome size, with differences observed between oxytetracycline and tylosin.
- Probiotic application following antibiotic treatment does not accelerate the recovery of the gut microbiome.
Overall, the research provides insights into the dynamics of the honey bee gut microbiome in response to probiotics and antibiotics, contributing to the understanding of factors influencing honey bee health.