Rafıqı, Abdul MatteenPolo , Priscila Gomez2023-02-172023-02-172020-08-28https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12645/36327Wild and commercial bumble bees are among the most common and important insect pollinators. World-wide,bumble beepopulations are shrinking. Understanding the factors affecting bumble bee health is vital to agriculture and to the sustainability of natural ecosystems. Microbiota can have a major impact on the physiology of the host, and potentially on its health and behavior. However, the study of endosymbionts within bumble bees has been limited almost exclusively to bacteria. Still very little is known about other potential endosymbionts as fungi. Because bumblebees are sold as pollinators and are available for purchase nationally and internationally, there is a movement of bumblebees from one place to another. This leads to a movement of their associated microbiota and also pathogens. It is known that there are specially two important bumblebee pathogens: Crithidia bombi and Nosema bombi that are contributing to decline of Bombus populations. In this study we will characterize fungal endosymbionts of bumble bees and we will ascertain their relation with these two pathogens. For this goal we will use next generation sequencingto identify of the fungal microbial symbiotic complex associated with bumble bees and quantitative PCR (qPCR) for studying their relation with prevalence of these two pathogens. This will help us understand if health and disease can be associated with certain features of the fungal microbiota. Moreover, this project will give us new perspectives on the evolutionary processes that shape symbiotic associations and new potential co-evolutionary interactions between microbiomes and pathogens.Sağlık BilimleriTarımsal BilimlerTemel BilimlerHealth SciencesAgricultural SciencesNatural SciencesTarım ve Çevre Bilimleri (AGE)Klinik Tıp (MED)Temel Bilimler (SCI)Doğa Bilimleri GenelÇOK DİSİPLİNLİ BİLİMLERAgriculture & Environment Sciences (AGE)Clinical Medicine (MED)Natural Sciences (SCI)NATURAL SCIENCES, GENERALMULTIDISCIPLINARY SCIENCESMultidisciplinary