FIG 4.

Comparison of the predominant bacterial genera among the three queen groupings of unmated queens (UQ), mated queens (MQ), and ovipositing queens (OQ). (A) LEfSe analysis indicates significantly different abundances of bacterial genera for each group. LDA score value is 2. (B) Heatmap depicts the relative abundances of the identified gut bacterial genera across the different queen groupings. Relative abundance of the gut bacterial genera Gilliamella, Snodgrassella, Lactobacillus, Bifidobacterium, Bacillus, Pseudomonas, and Lactococcus among three groups with significant differences (P < 0.05, Kruskal-Wallis tests). qPCR analyses were used to validate relative abundances of the seven differentially abundant genera marked by red arrowheads.