Natural products and defensive symbiosis in microbiomes of Tetragonisca angustula (Jataí)

• Grant number: 24/14095-8
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Master
• Start date: December 01, 2024
• End date: July 31, 2026
• Field of knowledge: Health Sciences - Pharmacy - Pharmacognosy
• Principal Investigator: Mônica Tallarico Pupo
• Grantee: Gabriel de Deus Correia
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Ciências Farmacêuticas de Ribeirão Preto (FCFRP). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Ribeirão Preto , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Stingless bees (Family Apidae: tribe Meliponini) play an essential role in the pollination of native plants, contributing to the maintenance of biodiversity. These bees establish symbiotic interactions with microorganisms, such as actinobacteria and fungi, which perform key functions in the hive and produce specialized metabolites for defensive symbiosis. These metabolites exhibit biological activity against entomopathogenic microorganisms and human pathogens. Although studies on the microorganisms associated with the species Tetragonisca angustula (Jataí) have been conducted in Costa Rica, no in-depth studies on the metabolites involved in the symbiosis have been conducted to date. This project aims to identify the microorganisms associated with T. angustula in Brazil, as well as the specialized metabolites involved in this symbiosis. The actinobacteria will be isolated from nurse bees, identified through genomic analysis and evaluated against entomopathogenic microorganisms. The chemical profile will be obtained for the extracts of the active strains, followed by the isolation and identification of the bioactive substances, which will be tested against the entomopathogens to confirm their ecological role. The bioactivity of these substances will also be evaluated in against human pathogens, in the search for new antimicrobial natural products. The results obtained may contribute to expand the knowledge of T. angustula microbiomes and may help in the preservation of this species.