Best Buds: Investigating the Tripartite Relationship Between Microbes, Floral Nectar, and Bees
Floral and pollinator microbiomes profoundly impact both ecosystem health and agricultural productivity. However, there are limited integrated studies investigating the shared microbial taxa within these environments, how they shift over time, and how microbes adapt to these habitats. This study aims to bridge this knowledge gap by examining the ecology and evolution of bacterial species that inhabit floral-pollinator environments, and highlighting taxa of interest. We explore the temporal patterns of microbial communities within flowers and pollinators across different ecologically managed environments. 16s rRNA amplicon sequencing of floral, bee crop, and pollen provision samples collected over a growing season from four distinct field sites revealed 279 shared microbial genera, including Acinetobacter, Lactobacillus, Pseudomonas, Bacillus, and Sphingomonas. Temporal analyses unveiled variations in microbial abundance throughout the growing season and distinct temporal patterns between agriculturally managed and unmanaged land. Despite differences across sites, seasons, and land management types, environmental exposure through foraging and land management practices was found to be critical in shaping microbial community structures. The study underscores the integral role of pollinator visitation in shaping floral microbiomes and highlights the importance of understanding these microbial dynamics for the conservation of bee populations and microbial dispersal within agricultural ecosystems. Acinetobacter, a floral nectar specialist, was of particular interest due to its adaptation from soil to floral nectar environments. Phylogenomic analysis of 15 novel Acinetobacter isolates and related strains reveals that nectar-associated Acinetobacter species form a distinct clade, suggesting specialization to these habitats. This ecological shift has driven significant genomic changes, including a reduction in gene number and the acquisition of genes beneficial to colonizing nutrient poor floral nectar environments. Ancestral reconstruction analyses reveal the significant gene losses and gains that optimize nutrient access in nectar, offering insights into the bacterial diversification triggered by extreme changes in selective pressures. These findings represent a significant step towards a more comprehensive understanding of the complexity of microbial communities within pollinator-floral environments.