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A research team has found a type of gutbacteria in bees that can improve memory.
Scientists from Jiangnan University, China and Queen Mary University of London collaborated with researchers from the University of Oulu, Finland to show that a species of gutbacteria, known as Lactobacillus apis, is linked to enhanced memory in bumblebees.
bumblebees with more of this type ofbacteria in their guts have a better memory than individuals with fewer. Individuals with a normal diet were found to have more long- lasting memories than bumblebees who ate more of this species of gutbacteria.
The artificial flowers were created to test the bees' memory and learning abilities, and five colors were associated with sweet sucrose solution and the other five with a bitter tasting solution containing quinine. The bees were able to learn which colors were associated with a sugar reward in less than a day, and if they could keep this information in a follow-up test three days later. They were able to compare the bumblebees' learning and memory abilities with the levels of different types ofbacteria in their gut by using gut samples from the bees.
To confirm that the bumblebees' memory differences were caused by the numbers of the Lactobacillus apis in the gut, the researchers added thesebacteria to the bumblebees' diet and measured their responses to the same task.
The study shows that the gut microbiome can affect animal behavior.
Bees have a relatively small community of gut microorganisms compared with mammals, making them ideal models to explore the role of specific gutbacteria on differences in cognitive abilities between individuals.
The researchers suggest that there could be differences in bumblebee nest environment, activities, pathogens, social interactions, and environment.
The results of the study suggest that the natural variation in the amount of a specific gut bacterium effects memory, but also show a link, that by adding the same bacterial species to a bee.
It will be necessary to conduct further research to determine if the same effect can be found in humans. Our work has shone a bright light on this possibility.
Professor Chittka from Queen Mary University of London is a co-author of the study. Our findings add to growing evidence of the importance of gut-brain interactions in animals and provide insights into the cause of cognitive differences in natural bumblebee populations.
The Head of the Enzymology lab at Jiangnan University said that it's amazing to find out the specific memory-Enhancingbacteria species. Our belief that we may improve our cognitive ability through the regulation of gut microbiota has been vindicated by the results.
Gut microbiome drives individual memory variation in bumblebees. There is a DOI of 10.1038/s41467-021-26833-4.
Nature Communications is a journal.
Scientists discover gutbacteria that improve memory in bees.
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