Global InformationSnodgrassella alvi information
| Snodgrassella alvi | |
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| Snodgrassella alvi, electron micrograph | |
Scientific classification 
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| Domain: | Bacteria |
| Phylum: | Pseudomonadota |
| Class: | Betaproteobacteria |
| Order: | Neisseriales |
| Family: | Neisseriaceae |
| Genus: | Snodgrassella |
| Species: | S. alvi
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| Binomial name | |
| Snodgrassella alvi Kwong and Moran 2013
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Snodgrassella alvi is a species of Gram-negative bacteria within the Neisseriaceae and was previously the only known species of the genus Snodgrassella. It was isolated and scientifically described in 2012 by Waldan K. Kwong and Nancy A. Moran, who named the bacteria after the American entomologist Robert Evans Snodgrass.
Snodgrassella alvi lives symbiotically as part of the intestinal flora in the midgut of honeybees (Apis mellifera) and some social bumblebee species. In this section of the intestine, together with Gilliamella apicola, they are the dominant bacteria, with each representing up to nearly 40% of the microflora there. In the intestine, Snodgrassella alvi and Gilliamella apicola interact in the utilization of metabolic resources, using each other's metabolites, and accordingly, they colonize different areas of the intestinal wall.
According to a study published in September 2018, Snodgrassella alvi is damaged by the use of the pesticide glyphosate, resulting in impairments of the gut microbiota. As a result, weakening of the bees' resistance to harmful bacteria and subsequent weakening of the animals was observed.[1] This effect was subsequently discussed internationally in various media as a possible cause of the colony collapse disorder observed worldwide.
- ^ Erick V. S. Motta, Kasie Raymann, Nancy A. Moran: Glyphosate perturbs the gut microbiota of honey bees. In: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 115 (41), 2018; S. 10305–10310. doi:10.1073/pnas.1803880115.