Biology subjects

Godoy-Vitorino, F.

Publications and source records attributed to Godoy-Vitorino, F..

4 recordsLinked to original sources

bioRxiv2026

Good parenting of oil-collecting bees: microbial defense in nests of Centris bees?

Microbial symbionts are increasingly recognized as key contributors to bee health, yet their roles in solitary bee brood cells remain largely unexplored. Here, we characterize the bacterial and fungal communities associated with brood cell compartments (cocoon, meconium, and prepupa) of the oil-collecting bee Centris aethyctera, and compare them with gut microbiota from adult Centris species. Using 16S rRNA and ITS amplicon sequencing, we show that microbiota are strongly compartmentalized, with distinct diversity patterns, taxonomic compositions, and inferred functional profiles across brood cell components. Contrary to our initial hypothesis, antibiotic-producing bacteria, particularly Actinomycetia, are most diverse and abundant in the meconium rather than the cocoon. Cocoons are enriched in hydrocarbon-degrading and nitrogen-cycling bacteria, while pre-pupae harbor distinct bacterial and fungal taxa, including genera with potential antimicrobial and symbiotic functions. Fungal communities are likewise structured, with taxa such as Aspergillus and Lecanicillium suggesting possible roles in pathogen defense. Core gut microbiota of adult Centris include acetic acid bacteria shared across species, with partial overlap with brood cell taxa, indicating potential transmission pathways. Together, our results reveal that Centris brood cells form a highly structured, antimicrobial-rich microenvironment likely shaped by maternal provisioning and environmental acquisition. These findings provide the first comprehensive description of microbiota across brood cell compartments in a solitary bee and identify ground-nesting bee systems as promising reservoirs for novel antimicrobial discovery.

ecology↗

bioRxiv2026

Better together: Microbial diversity might facilitate the invasion success of the seagrass Halophila stipulacea in mixed Mediterranean seagrass communities

Microorganisms are increasingly recognized as key facilitators of invasion success for introduced species into new environments. The globally invasive seagrass Halophila stipulacea flourishes in mixed environments with native seagrasses, where it exhibits enhanced growth, while, in contrast, native seagrasses in mixed environments experience reduced growth. Here, we hypothesize that microbes may support the success of invasive seagrass in mixed Mediterranean environments. We analyzed 16S rRNA genes to characterize the microbial diversity on the phyllosphere alongside biochemical, morphological, and sediment nutrient measurements of the Mediterranean-native seagrass Cymodocea nodosa and the invasive H. stipulacea from a controlled mesocosm experiment. Overall, C. nodosa in monoculture harbored a microbiome exhibiting higher ASV richness and a distinct community composition than H. stipulacea. Variation in bacterial diversity associated with hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) and internode length suggests that microbial communities of the native seagrass might be shaped by its stress. Conversely, H. stipulaceas microbiome was most abundant in mixed environments, with bacteria significantly reduced in monoculture, and bacterial diversity loosely associated with growth, suggesting that microbes are critical to assisting and possibly facilitating H. stipulacea in mixed environments. Overall, our findings suggest that invasive H. stipulacea in the Mediterranean Sea are capable of recruiting beneficial bacteria, creating microbial interactions that support its success, and undermining the resilience of native seagrasses in mixed beds. Future work should center on the mechanisms driving H. stipulacea bacterial communities and investigating whether H. stipulacea actively determines its own microbiome, or whether its microbiome is passively determined by environmental variables.

microbiology↗

bioRxiv2026

Environmental Fungi Modulate the Vaginal Mycobiome and Cervical Disease Progression in Hispanic Women

The vaginal mycobiome, though a minor component of the cervicovaginal ecosystem, plays a crucial role in reproductive health and disease. However, its composition and interactions with bacterial communities remain poorly understood, particularly among Hispanic women, who experience disproportionately high rates of Human papillomavirus (HPV) infection and cervical cancer. We characterized the vaginal mycobiota across reproductive stages and examined its associations with cervical disease, HPV status, and bacterial community state types (CSTs) in 86 Hispanic participants from Puerto Rico using ITS1 amplicon sequencing. Amplicon sequence variants were inferred with QIIME2/DADA2 and taxonomically classified using the UNITE database, with diversity and discriminant taxa analyses applied to explore clinical and microbial associations. We detected 173 fungal Species Hypotheses, dominated by Candida albicans, Agaricomycetes sp., Scopuloides dimorpha, and Hortaea werneckii. While fungal composition did not differ significantly by reproductive stage, non-pregnant individuals exhibited greater inter-individual variability. Alpha diversity was reduced in high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesions compared with low-grade or normal cytology, and Candida parapsilosis prevalence was elevated in low-grade lesions. CST III, characterized by Lactobacillus iners dominance, showed greater dispersion variance than other CSTs. Collectively, these findings reveal a diverse vaginal mycobiome with stage- and disease-specific features, and a notable contribution of environmental fungi that may influence cervical pathogenesis. This work provides foundational insight into cervicovaginal fungal ecology in a high-risk Hispanic population and highlights the importance of integrating bacteriome-mycobiome analyses in womens health research.

microbiology↗

bioRxiv2023

The cervical microbiota of Hispanics living in Puerto Rico is highly volatile and dominated by L. iners regardless of HPV status

IntroductionThe cervicovaginal microbiota is influenced by host physiology, immunology, lifestyle, and ethnicity. We hypothesized that there would be differences in the cervicovaginal microbiota among pregnant, non-pregnant and menopausal women living in Puerto Rico with and without Human Papillomavirus (HPV) infection and cervical cancer. We specifically wanted to determine if the microbiota associated with variation in cervical cytology. A total of 294 women comprised of reproductive-age non-pregnant (N=196), pregnant (N=37), and menopausal (N=61) women were enrolled. The cervicovaginal bacteria was characterized by 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing, the HPV were genotyped with SPF10-LiPA, and cervical cytology was quantified. High-risk HPV (HR-HPV, 67.3%) was prevalent, including genotypes not covered by the 9vt HPV vaccine. Cervical lesions (34%) were also common. The cervical microbiota was dominated by Lactobacillus iners. Pregnant women in the 2nd and 3rd trimesters had decreased diversity and a decreased abundance of microbes associated with bacterial vaginosis. Women in menopause had greater alpha diversity, a greater proportion of facultative and strictly anaerobic bacteria, and higher cervicovaginal pH than pre-menopausal women. Cervical lesions were associated with greater alpha diversity. However, no significant associations between the microbiota and HPV infection (HR or LR-HPV types) were found. The cervicovaginal microbiota women living in Puerto Rican were either dominated by L. iners or diverse microbial communities regardless of a womans physiological stage. We postulate that the microbiota and the high prevalence of HR-HPV, increase the risk of cervical lesions of women living in Puerto Rico.

microbiology↗