Gut microbiota protects honey bees (Apis mellifera L.) against polystyrene microplastics exposure risks

Microplastic contamination is not only a pressing environmental concern in oceans, but also terrestrial ecosystems. However, little is known about its potential impacts on pollinators. Here, we reported the effects of 25 μm-diameter spherical polystyrene microplastics (PS-MPs) alone or in combination with the antibiotic tetracycline on honey bees (Apis mellifera L.) in the laboratory. We noticed that PS-MPs exposure for 14 d had sublethal effects, with low mortalities (up to 1.6 %) across three different treatments (0.5, 5, and 50 mg/L) and no changes to the body weight gains compared to the control bees. Nevertheless, PS-MPs exposure led to significant decreases in the α-diversity of bees’ gut microbiota accompanied by changes to the core microbial population structure. Additionally, PS-MPs lead to alterations in the expression of antioxidative (Cat), detoxification (CypQ1 and GstS3), and immune system-related genes (Domeless, Hopscotch, and Symplekin) in guts. More interestingly, we observed that PS-MPs accumulated and degraded inside of the hindgut and interacted with gut bacteria. The depletion of the normal gut microbiota using tetracycline dramatically increased the lethality of microplastics. These results provide a resource for future research on microplastic-microbiome interactions in other insects and also shed light on understanding the potential effects of microplastics in terrestrial ecosystems.