Temporal variations shape the gut microbiome ecology of the moth Brithys crini

The cultivable gut bacteria Enterococcus mundtii promotes early-instar larval growth of Conogethes punctiferalis via enhancing digestive enzyme activity

BACKGROUND

Gut bacteria are crucial in influencing insect development and even phenotypic plasticity. The yellow peach moth Conogethes punctiferalis, as a significant borer pest, has been the subject of limited reports regarding the structural and diversification changes in its gut microbiota during feeding, and their potential impacts on the growth and development of the host insects.

RESULTS

This study, employing 16S rRNA sequencing, demonstrates distinct shifts in the larvae gut microbiome of C. punctiferalis between different feeding stages, highlighting a pronounced diversity in the early-instar with Enterococcus as a predominant genus in laboratory populations. Through in vitro cultivation and sequencing, three bacterial strains - Micrococcus sp., Brevibacterium sp. and Enterococcus mundtii - were isolated and characterized. Bioassays revealed that E. mundtii-infused corn significantly boosts early-instar larval growth, enhancing both body length and weight. Quantitative PCR and spectrophotometry confirmed a higher abundance of E. mundtii in younger larvae, correlating with increased digestive enzyme activity and total protein levels.

CONCLUSION

This study reveals the heightened gut microbiota diversity in early instars of C. punctiferalis larvae, highlighting that Enterococcus represent a predominant bacteria in laboratory populations. In vitro cultivation and bioassays unequivocally demonstrate the significant role of the cultivable gut bacteria E. mundtii in promoting the growth of early-instar larva. These findings provide a solid theoretical foundation for advancing the comprehension of the intricate interactions between gut microbiota and insect hosts, as well as for the development of eco-friendly pest control technologies based on targeted manipulation of insect gut microbial communities. © 2024 Society of Chemical Industry.

Comparative gut microbiome research through the lens of ecology: theoretical considerations and best practices

Comparative approaches in animal gut microbiome research have revealed patterns of phylosymbiosis, dietary and physiological convergences, and environment-host interactions. However, most large-scale comparative studies, especially those that are highly cited, have focused on mammals, and efforts to integrate comparative approaches with existing ecological frameworks are lacking. While mammals serve as useful model organisms, developing generalised principles of how animal gut microbiomes are shaped and how these microbiomes interact bidirectionally with host ecology and evolution requires a more complete sampling of the animal kingdom. Here, we provide an overview of what past comparative studies have taught us about the gut microbiome, and how community ecology theory may help resolve certain contradictions in comparative gut microbiome research. We explore whether certain hypotheses are supported across clades, and how the disproportionate focus on mammals has introduced potential bias into gut microbiome theory. We then introduce a methodological solution by which public gut microbiome data of understudied hosts can be compiled and analysed in a comparative context. Our aggregation and analysis of 179 studies shows that generating data sets with rich host diversity is possible with public data and that key gut microbes associated with mammals are widespread across the animal kingdom. We also show the effects that sample size and taxonomic rank have on comparative gut microbiome studies and that results of multivariate analyses can vary significantly with these two parameters. While challenges remain in developing a universal model of the animal gut microbiome, we show that existing ecological frameworks can help bring us one step closer to integrating the gut microbiome into animal ecology and evolution.

Adaptability of the gut microbiota of the German cockroach Blattella germanica to a periodic antibiotic treatment

High-throughput sequencing studies have shown that diet or antimicrobial treatments impact animal gut microbiota equilibrium. However, properties related to the gut microbial ecosystem stability, such as resilience, resistance, or functional redundancy, must be better understood. To shed light on these ecological processes, we combined advanced statistical methods with 16 S rRNA gene sequencing, functional prediction, and fitness analyses in the gut microbiota of the cockroach Blattella germanica subject to three periodic pulses of the antibiotic (AB) kanamycin (n=512). We first confirmed that AB did not significantly affect cockroaches' biological fitness, and gut microbiota changes were not caused by insect physiology alterations. The sex variable was examined for the first time in this species, and no statistical differences in the gut microbiota diversity or composition were found. The comparison of the gut microbiota dynamics in control and treated populations revealed that (1) AB treatment decreases diversity and completely disrupts the co-occurrence networks between bacteria, significantly altering the gut community structure. (2) Although AB also affected the genetic composition, functional redundancy would explain a smaller effect on the functional potential than on the taxonomic composition. (3) As predicted by Taylor's law, AB generally affected the most abundant taxa to a lesser extent than the less abundant taxa. (4) Taxa follow different trends in response to ABs, highlighting "resistant taxa," which could be critical for community restoration. (5) The gut microbiota recovered faster after the three AB pulses, suggesting that gut microbiota adapts to repeated treatments.

Toward an Integrated Understanding of the Lepidoptera Microbiome

Research over the past 30 years has led to a widespread acceptance that insects establish widespread and diverse associations with microorganisms. More recently, microbiome research has been accelerating in lepidopteran systems, leading to a greater understanding of both endosymbiont and gut microorganisms and how they contribute to integral aspects of the host. Lepidoptera are associated with a robust assemblage of microorganisms, some of which may be stable and routinely detected in larval and adult hosts, while others are ephemeral and transient. Certain microorganisms that populate Lepidoptera can contribute significantly to the hosts' performance and fitness, while others are inconsequential. We emphasize the context-dependent nature of the interactions between players. While our review discusses the contemporary literature, there are major avenues yet to be explored to determine both the fundamental aspects of host-microbe interactions and potential applications for the lepidopteran microbiome; we describe these avenues after our synthesis.

Microbial gut diversity in four grasshopper species and its correlation with cellulose digestibility

Grasshoppers are common pests, and their intestinal microbes have coevolved with them. These microorganisms have varied community structures, and they participate in the nutritional absorption and metabolism of grasshoppers. Here, we describe the gut microbiota diversity of four species of grasshoppers, Oxya chinensis, Pararcyptera microptera meridionalis, Gastrimargus marmoratus, and Calliptamus abbreviatus. We constructed a 16S rDNA gene library and analyzed the digestibility of cellulose and hemicellulose in grasshoppers using moss black phenol and anthrone colorimetry. The grasshopper with the highest microbial diversity in the gut among the four species was Oxya chinensis, and there were no significant differences in gut microbial diversity between the two geographic collections of Oxya chinensis. The most dominant phyla of the four grasshopper gut microorganisms were Proteobacteria, Bacteroidetes, and Firmicutes, and the most dominant genus was Enterobacter. The gut microbiota features of the four grasshoppers were correlated with their cellulose and hemicellulose digestibility. There was a significant positive correlation with cellulose digestibility for Pantoea. A significant negative correlation was found with cellulose digestibility for Acinetobacter, Enterococcus, Citrobacter, Serratia. A significant negative correlation was found with hemicellulose digestibility for Pantoea. This study contributes to the understanding of the structural composition of different species of grasshoppers gut microbiota, which may be useful for developing grasshopper digestive tracts as bioreactors for cellulose decomposition, improving the decomposition and utilization of agricultural straw, producing clean biomass energy, and processing biologically derived products.

Analysis of Intestinal Microbial Diversity of Four Species of Grasshoppers and Determination of Cellulose Digestibility

Simple Summary

Grasshoppers are typical phytophagous pests, which prefer eating monocotyledons with more cellulose and hemicellulose. Due to its large appetite and high utilization rate, the intestinal contents of grasshoppers have the potential to be developed into a bioreactor, which can be applied to improve straw utilization efficiency in the future. The digestive tract of grasshoppers is a complex ecosystem, inhabited by a large number of microorganisms. The existence of these microorganisms enables grasshoppers to have high decomposition and utilization of plant fibers. However, there are few reports on the microflora structure and diversity of the digestive tract of grasshoppers. In this study, the diversity of symbiotic bacteria in the intestinal tract of four species of grasshoppers, namely Acrida cinerea, Trilophidia annulata, Atractomorpha sinensis and Sphingonotus mongolicus, was studied by using the method of constructing a 16S rRNA gene library and Illumina Miseq sequencing technology. At the same time, the digestibility of cellulose and hemicellulose of the four species of grasshoppers were determined and the relationship between digestibility and intestinal microbial diversity was analyzed. This study provided basic data for the development of the digestible bioreactor of cellulose and hemicellulose, which may provide a new idea for degrading straw.

Abstract

Grasshoppers (Insecta, Orthoptera, Acridoidea) are a large group of agricultural and animal husbandry pests. They have a large food intake with high utilization of plants fibers. However, the composition of the grasshopper gut microbial community, especially the relationship between gut microbial community and cellulose digestibility, remains unclear. In this research, 16S rRNA gene sequences were used to determine the intestinal microbial diversity of Acrida cinerea, Trilophidia annulata, Atractomorpha sinensis and Sphingonotus mongolicus, and Spearman correlation analysis was performed between the intestinal microbes of grasshoppers and the digestibility of cellulose and hemicellulose. The results showed that Proteobacteria was the dominant phylum and Klebsiella was the dominant genus in the guts of the four species of grasshoppers; there was no significant difference in the species composition of the gut microbes of the four species of grasshoppers. Spearman correlation analysis showed that Brevibacterium and Stenotrophomonas were significantly correlated with cellulose digestibility. Brevibacterium, Clavibacter, Microbacterium and Stenotrophomonas were significantly associated with hemicellulose digestibility. Our results confirmed that the gut microbes of grasshoppers were correlated with the digestibility of cellulose and hemicellulose, and indicated that grasshoppers may have the potential to develop into bioreactors, which can be applied to improve straw utilization efficiency in the future.