Oral Presentation Australian Microbial Ecology Conference 2024

The beneficial relationship between fungi and Australian stingless bees (#99)

Jasmin Li 1 , Ros Gloag 1 , Erin Shanahan 1 , Kenya Fernandes 1
  1. School of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia

Australian stingless bees serve an important role as pollinators in the native ecosystem and the agricultural industry with the most widely species being Tetragonula carbonaria. However, stingless bee populations are currently under pressure due to numerous factors including the overuse of pesticides and fungicides. Fungicides can disrupt the immune system and gut of stingless bees. To understand the likely impact of disruptions in their mycobiota on stingless bee populations, our study aims to understand the beneficial interactions between fungi and stingless bees. The project will involve characterising the core mycobiota of fungal species consistently found in brood food and pollens samples across hives in New South Wales and Queensland. Then, assessing which fungal genera are essential to the development of Australian stingless bees and which fungal genera are involved in the fermentation process of honey and pollen. Preliminary findings of the fungal community in brood food and pollen samples obtained from hives at the University of Sydney demonstrated a dominance of Zygosaccharomyces. This genera of yeast has been shown to be essential in the development of Brazillian stingless bee larvae into mature adults.