{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,14]],"date-time":"2026-05-14T06:11:58Z","timestamp":1778739118261,"version":"3.51.4"},"reference-count":31,"publisher":"Frontiers Media SA","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,14]],"date-time":"2026-05-14T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1778716800000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["frontiersin.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Front. Microbiol."],"abstract":"<jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Introduction<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Honey is a complex biological matrix containing plant-derived, microbial, and viral components that reflect both environmental and hive-associated processes. Traditional methods for determining botanical origin, such as melissopalynology, have limitations in resolution and scope. In this context, untargeted shotgun metagenomics emerges as a promising integrative approach for comprehensive honey characterization.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Methods<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>This pilot study explored the feasibility of applying an untargeted shotgun metagenomic approach to honey samples from Necochea, Buenos Aires province, Argentina. Two honey samples and a pollen control sample from Rosa chinensis were subjected to DNA extraction, shotgun library preparation, and sequencing on an Illumina NextSeq 500 platform.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Results<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>\n                      The control sample showed exclusive assignment to\n                      <jats:italic>Rosa chinensis<\/jats:italic>\n                      , supporting the validity of the analytical workflow. In both honey samples, plant-derived sequences were predominantly assigned to\n                      <jats:italic>Helianthus annuus<\/jats:italic>\n                      (common sunflower) and\n                      <jats:italic>Eucalyptus grandis<\/jats:italic>\n                      (rose gum), consistent with the regional flora. Key bacterial taxa included\n                      <jats:italic>Paenibacillus larvae<\/jats:italic>\n                      in one sample,\n                      <jats:italic>Acinetobacter johnsonii<\/jats:italic>\n                      in the other, and\n                      <jats:italic>Apilactobacillus kunkeei, Bradyrhizobium<\/jats:italic>\n                      sp.,\n                      <jats:italic>Sphingobium yanoikuyae<\/jats:italic>\n                      , and\n                      <jats:italic>Stutzerimonas stutzeri<\/jats:italic>\n                      in both.\n                      <jats:italic>Apis mellifera filamentous virus<\/jats:italic>\n                      was detected in both samples.\n                    <\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Discussion<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Given the limited sample size, these findings should be interpreted as exploratory and hypothesis-generating. Nevertheless, this proof-of-concept supports the potential of untargeted metagenomics as an integrated tool for the simultaneous characterization of botanical origin, microbial communities, and viral content in honey, offering advantages over targeted amplicon-based approaches. Future studies with larger and systematically designed cohorts will be necessary to validate and extend these observations.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.3389\/fmicb.2026.1833002","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,14]],"date-time":"2026-05-14T05:34:09Z","timestamp":1778736849000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["A pilot proof-of-concept study of microbial and botanical diversity in honey samples from Necochea, Argentina"],"prefix":"10.3389","volume":"17","author":[{"given":"R.","family":"Taussig","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Departamento de Ingenier\u00eda Biom\u00e9dica, Facultad de Ingenier\u00eda, Universidad Austral","place":["Pilar, Argentina"]}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"R.","family":"Peralta","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Departamento de Ingenier\u00eda Biom\u00e9dica, Facultad de Ingenier\u00eda, Universidad Austral","place":["Pilar, Argentina"]},{"name":"Facultad de Ingenier\u00eda, Universidad Nacional de Entre R\u00edos","place":["Oro Verde, Argentina"]}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"J. P.","family":"Bustamante","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Departamento de Ingenier\u00eda Biom\u00e9dica, Facultad de Ingenier\u00eda, Universidad Austral","place":["Pilar, Argentina"]},{"name":"Facultad de Ingenier\u00eda, Universidad Nacional de Entre R\u00edos","place":["Oro Verde, Argentina"]},{"name":"Centro Interdisciplinario de Investigaciones en Ciencias de la Salud y del Comportamiento (CIICSAC, CONICET-UAP), Facultad de Ciencias de la Salud, Universidad Adventista del Plata","place":["Libertador San Martin, Entre R\u00edos, Argentina"]}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"1965","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,14]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref1","first-page":"75","article-title":"Pollen and nectar sources used by honeybee colonies pollinating sunflower (Helianthus annuus) in the Colorado River valley, Argentina","volume":"39","author":"Andrada","year":"2004","journal-title":"Bol. Soc. Argent. 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