Characterization and identification of lactic acid bacteria from Mexican stingless bees (Apidae: Meliponini)

Stingless bees (family Apidae; tribe Meliponini), native from Mexico, are essential in tropical ecosystems. They are responsible for the pollination of many crops, native flora, and honey production. Lactic Acid Bacteria (LAB) are a regular host of the bee microbiota. LAB provide beneficial effects such as decreasing bacterial and parasitic pathogens infections and enhancing beehive honey production. Four different stingless bee species were sampled in the southeast of Mexico (Veracruz State) and identified as Melipona beecheii, Scaptotrigona pectoralis, Plebeia llorentei and Plebeia jatiformis. Twelve LAB strains were isolated from the bee gastrointestinal tract and characterised by microbiologic features, carbohydrates fermentation profile, antibiogram and phylogenetic reconstructions through distance and Bayesian inference methods, selecting two genes with hypervariable regions (16S rRNA and pheS). The species were characterised as gram-positive and catalase-negative as rods and cocci. Moreover, most of the species identified were able to use diverse polysaccharides as the only carbon source. Lactobacillaceae resulted in resistance to ciprofloxacin and Leuconstaceae to cotrimoxazole. Finally, ten strains could be identified by both phylogenetic reconstructions as Lactiplantibacillus plantarum (2), Weissella paramesenteroides (3), Leuconostoc citreum (2), and Apilactobacillus spp. (3). This is the first report of LAB isolated from Mexican stingless bees to the best of our knowledge.