Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved
According to a Swiss study, bees themselves produce the ingredients needed by a certain type of intestinal bacteria when these are lacking in their diet.
This content was published on
3 minutes
Keystone-SDA
Português
pt
Abelhas produzem nutrientes para suas bactérias intestinais
This newly discovered mechanism could play a role in understanding how vulnerable bees are to climate change, pesticides or new pathogens, according to a press release by the Federal Instittue of technology in Lausanne (EPFL) and the University of Lausanne (UNIL).
For the study published this week in the journal Nature Microbiology, the researchers raised bees without intestinal bacteria and fed them sugar water exclusively. By examining the bacteria present in the bees’ intestines, the researchers unexpectedly discovered the presence of the bacteria Snodgrassella alvi. This bacteria cannot metabolise sugar in order to develop.
The fact that it colonised the bees’ intestines even when sugar was the only food and no other bacteria were present initially puzzled the researchers. Intestinal bacteria normally feed on substances present in food.
By measuring the products of metabolism in the bee’s intestine, the scientists found that the bee produces several acids, including citric acid and malic acid, which are transported in the intestine. When Snodgrassella alvi bacteria were already present, the bees produced fewer of these acids.
Link to understanding vulnerability
Using specially marked atoms, the researchers were able to prove that the intestinal bacteria were indeed fed with these acids. According to the researchers, the vulnerability of bees could be linked to this complex system of the intestinal microbiome.
“We already know that contact with the herbicide glyphosate makes bees more vulnerable to pathogens and reduces the abundance of S. alvi in the gut,” said study leader Andrew Quinn, from UNIL, quoted in the press release.
The authors therefore hope to study the intestinal microbiome of bees in greater detail in other studies.
External Content
Your subscription could not be saved. Please try again.
Almost finished… We need to confirm your email address. To complete the subscription process, please click the link in the email we just sent you.
This news story has been written and carefully fact-checked by an external editorial team. At SWI swissinfo.ch we select the most relevant news for an international audience and use automatic translation tools such as DeepL to translate it into English. Providing you with automatically translated news gives us the time to write more in-depth articles. You can find them here.
If you want to know more about how we work, have a look here, and if you have feedback on this news story please write to english@swissinfo.ch.
How is your country dealing with the return of stolen artifacts?
Western nations like Switzerland often have to deal with the process of recovering or returning looted artifacts which have been illegally imported. What’s the situation like in your country?
What do you think Switzerland’s Alain Berset can bring to the Council of Europe?
The former interior minister is to become the first Swiss Secretary General of the Council of Europe – which issues should his five-year term focus on?
Suicide capsule to be used in Switzerland this year, says euthanasia organisation
This content was published on
The organisation “The Last Resort” has confirmed that the suicide capsule Sarco is to be used in Switzerland. This should happen this year, it said.
Ukrainian children flown to Switzerland for cancer treatment
This content was published on
The Swiss air rescue service Rega flew two Ukrainian children with cancer to Switzerland from a hospital in Kyiv hit by Russian missiles.
Swiss Solidarity raises over CHF10 million for victims of extreme weather
This content was published on
The money raised will be used to help those affected by the recent storms and flooding in the cantons of Ticino, Graubünden, and Valais.
Swiss giant Roche given green light for lung cancer drug in Canada
This content was published on
According to a recent study, Roche’s Alecensaro reduced the risk of recurrence or death by 76% compared to chemotherapy alone.
Swiss luxury watch market hit hard by China-led slump
This content was published on
Sales of Swiss-made luxury watches are in sharp retreat as nervous consumers reconsider splashing out on expensive timepieces and demand slumps.
Swiss foreign minister briefs Russian counterpart on Ukraine peace summit
This content was published on
Swiss Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis met with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov in New York, during Russia's presidency of the UN Security Council.
Criminal proceedings filed over Swiss components in Russian weapons
This content was published on
The Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs has opened more than 50 administrative criminal proceedings for violations of sanctions against Russia.
You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here . Please join us!
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.