{"paper_id":"0d1aa4b5-5954-4447-b3bb-7cc6e35f8bd9","body_text":"Abstract\nSexual recombination and horizontal gene transfer are expected to improve the survival of host-associated bacteria that face colonization bottlenecks and intense competition. We serendipitously observed recombination between Snodgrassella alvi strains within bees, which led us to discover that this core member of the bee gut microbiota is naturally competent, including under laboratory conditions. High rates of gene transfer via DNA release and uptake by S. alvi have implications for how it has evolved in managed hives and suggest opportunities for using in situ microbiome engineering to protect bee health.\nCompeting Interest Statement\nJ.E.B. is a co-inventor on a patent (US 11,382,989) covering the use of engineered symbionts to improve bee health.\nFunder Information Declared\nU.S. National Science Foundation, IOS-2103208\nUnited States Army Research Office, W911NF-20-1-0195\nUnited States Department of Agriculture, 2023-67012-39356\nCopyright\nThe copyright holder for this preprint is the author/funder, who has granted bioRxiv a license to display the preprint in perpetuity. It is made available under a CC-BY 4.0 International license.","source_license":"CC-BY-4.0","license_restricted":false}