Priit Paluoja, Mihkel Vaher, Hindrek Teder, Kaarel Krjutškov, Andres Salumets, Kairi Raime
{"title":"Honey bulk DNA metagenomic analysis to identify honey biological composition and monitor honey bee pathogens.","authors":"Priit Paluoja, Mihkel Vaher, Hindrek Teder, Kaarel Krjutškov, Andres Salumets, Kairi Raime","doi":"10.1038/s41538-025-00464-1","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Honey's DNA mixture originates from various organisms like plants, arthropods, fungi, bacteria, and viruses. Conventional methods like melissopalynological analysis and targeted honey DNA metabarcoding offer a limited view of honey's biological composition. We conducted a honey bulk DNA metagenomic analysis to characterize the honey's taxonomic composition and identify honey bee-related pathogens and parasites based on 266 Estonian and 103 foreign honey samples. 70.4% of the DNA in Estonian honey was derived from green plant families like Brassicaceae, Rosaceae, Fabaceae, and Pinaceae. Geographical distribution analysis revealed distinct botanical compositions between Estonian mainland and island samples. The bacterial family Lactobacillaceae was prevalent overall, reflecting the honey bee microbiota in honey. We detected 12 honey bee pathogens and parasites, including Paenibacillus larvae, Nosema ceranae, Varroa destructor, and Aethina tumida. In conclusion, the study underscores the potential of bulk DNA-based non-targeted metagenomic approaches for monitoring honey bee health, environment, and honey composition, origin, and authenticity.</p>","PeriodicalId":19367,"journal":{"name":"NPJ Science of Food","volume":"9 1","pages":"91"},"PeriodicalIF":7.8000,"publicationDate":"2025-05-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12125302/pdf/","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"NPJ Science of Food","FirstCategoryId":"97","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1038/s41538-025-00464-1","RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"FOOD SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Honey's DNA mixture originates from various organisms like plants, arthropods, fungi, bacteria, and viruses. Conventional methods like melissopalynological analysis and targeted honey DNA metabarcoding offer a limited view of honey's biological composition. We conducted a honey bulk DNA metagenomic analysis to characterize the honey's taxonomic composition and identify honey bee-related pathogens and parasites based on 266 Estonian and 103 foreign honey samples. 70.4% of the DNA in Estonian honey was derived from green plant families like Brassicaceae, Rosaceae, Fabaceae, and Pinaceae. Geographical distribution analysis revealed distinct botanical compositions between Estonian mainland and island samples. The bacterial family Lactobacillaceae was prevalent overall, reflecting the honey bee microbiota in honey. We detected 12 honey bee pathogens and parasites, including Paenibacillus larvae, Nosema ceranae, Varroa destructor, and Aethina tumida. In conclusion, the study underscores the potential of bulk DNA-based non-targeted metagenomic approaches for monitoring honey bee health, environment, and honey composition, origin, and authenticity.
期刊介绍:
npj Science of Food is an online-only and open access journal publishes high-quality, high-impact papers related to food safety, security, integrated production, processing and packaging, the changes and interactions of food components, and the influence on health and wellness properties of food. The journal will support fundamental studies that advance the science of food beyond the classic focus on processing, thereby addressing basic inquiries around food from the public and industry. It will also support research that might result in innovation of technologies and products that are public-friendly while promoting the United Nations sustainable development goals.