Helicobacter. 2018;e12471. wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/hel | 1 of 11 https://doi.org/10.1111/hel.12471 © 2018 John Wiley & Sons Ltd DOI: 10.1111/hel.12471 ORIGINAL ARTICLE Natural fruits, flowers, honey, and honeybees harbor Helicobacter pylori -positive yeasts Farideh Siavoshi 1 | Marzieh Sahraee 1 | Hoda Ebrahimi 1 | Abdolfatah Sarrafnejad 2 | Parastoo Saniee 3 1 Department of Microbiology, School of Biology, University College of Sciences, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran 2 Department of Immunology, School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran 3 Faculty of Life Science and Biotechnology, Department of Microbiology and Microbial Biotechnology, Shahid Beheshti University G. C, Tehran, Iran Correspondence Farideh Siavoshi, Department of Microbiology, School of Biology, University college of sciences, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran. Email: Siavoshi@khayam.ut.ac.ir Abstract Background: For controlling Helicobacter pylori infection in humans, its environmen- tal reservoir should be determined. In this study, yeast isolates from an isolated vil- lage in Iran were studied for the intracellular occurrence of H. pylori. Materials and Methods: In this study, yeasts were isolated from 29 samples, includ- ing oral swabs from villagers (n = 7), flowers and fruits (n = 6), honey and honeybees (n = 12) and miscellaneous samples (4). Yeasts were classified into 12 RFLP groups and identified by amplification of 26S rDNA and sequencing. DNA extracted from the yeast cells was examined for the presence of H. pylori using PCR. Results: Of the 29 yeasts, 27 were members of different genera of Ascomycete. H. pylori was detected in 5 of 9 Candida (55.5%), 4 of 5 Komagataella (80%), 3 of 4 Pichia (100%), 2 of 2 Cytobasidia (100%), 2 of 2 Hansenia (100%), 1 of 1 Meyerozyma (100%) and 2 of 3 not sequenced (66.6%) yeasts. Distribution of 19 of 29 (65.5%) H. pylori-positive yeasts within 4 groups was as follows: 1 of 7(14.3%) in oral swabs, 5 of 6 (83.3%) in flowers and fruits, 10 of 12 (83.3%) in honey and the bee group and 3 of 4 (75%) in miscellaneous. Conclusions: Different genera of osmotolerant yeasts from flowers, fruits, honey, and honeybees contained H. pylori in their vacuole. High frequency of H. pylori-positive yeasts in these samples might be related to their high sugar content. Insects such as honeybees that facilitate transfer and easy access of these yeasts to nectars serve as the main reservoirs of these yeasts, playing an important role in their protection and dispersal. Accordingly, H. pylori inside these yeasts can be carried by honeybees to different sugar- and nutrient-rich environments. Sugar-rich environments and honey- bees play an important role in distribution of H. pylori-positive yeasts in nature. KEYWORDS distribute, honeybees, intracellular Helicobacter pylori, osmotolerant yeasts, sugar-rich environments 1 | INTRODUCTION It is well accepted that Helicobacter pylori plays a significant role in gastric diseases including gastritis, peptic ulcers, gastric cancer, and MALT lymphoma. 1 Person-to-person contact has been regarded as the most common route of H. pylori infection. 2 Moreover, as H. py- lori is a gastric colonizer, ingestion of contaminated food and water 3 has also been suggested as an important route of H. pylori entry into the human stomach. However, there is no evidence to show survival of H. pylori in the environment outside human stomach such as oral