Divergent microbiome signatures between managed and wild honey bee ( Apis mellifera ) populations in South Texas

Abstract

Understanding how human management shapes the microbiomes of domesticated species is essential for predicting their resilience to environmental stressors. Honey bees ( Apis mellifera ) are critical pollinators whose health and productivity are closely tied to their gut microbiota, but nearly all microbiome studies have focused on managed colonies. This study leverages the Welder Wildlife Refuge in South Texas, one of the few documented and well-studied sites in the United States where honey bee colonies have persisted unmanaged for decades, to directly compare managed and wild populations. We show that managed bees harbor higher bacterial loads but reduced microbial diversity and greater antibiotic resistance potential. These findings demonstrate that long-term absence of human intervention can preserve microbial diversity, offering insights into how domestication, antibiotic exposure, and environmental simplification influence the evolution and ecology of host-associated microbiomes.