Abstract
The microbial gut communities associated with various xylophagous beetles offer great potential for different biotechnologies and elaboration of novel pest management strategies. In this research, the intestinal bacterial and fungal communities of various cerambycid larvae, including Acmaeops septentrionis, Acanthocinus aedilis, Callidium coriaceum, Trichoferus campestris and Chlorophorus herbstii, were investigated. The intestinal microbial communities of these Cerambycidae species were mostly represented by members of the bacterial phyla Proteobacteria and Actinobacteria and the fungal phylum Ascomycota. However, the bacterial and fungal communities varied by beetle species and between individual organisms. Furthermore, bacterial communities’ metagenomes reconstruction indicated the genes that encode enzymes involved in the lignocellulose degradation (such as peroxidases, alpha-L-fucosidases, beta-xylosidases, beta-mannosidases, endoglucanases, beta-glucosidases and others) and nitrogen fixation (nitrogenases). Most of the predicted genes potentially related to lignocellulose degradation were enriched in the T. campestris,A. aedilis and A. septentrionis larval gut consortia, whereas predicted genes affiliated with the nitrogenase component proteins were enriched in the T. campestris, A. septentrionis and C. herbstii larval gut consortia. Several bacteria and fungi detected in the current work could be involved in the nutrition of beetle larvae.
Highlights
Insecta is the most diverse class of animals, living in multiple habitats and feeding on various substrates[1]
The highest observed interspecific Kimura 2-parameter (K2P) distance was 26.0% (p-distance: 21.8%) between T. campestris (TC) and A. septentrionis (AS), while the lowest distances were detected between A. aedilis (AA) and A. septentrionis (AS) (K2P distances: 18.8%, p-distances: 16.5%; Supplementary Table S1)
The present study characterizes the bacterial and fungal communities associated with the gut systems of several cerambycid larvae, including A. septentrionis, A. aedilis, C. coriaceum, T. campestris and C. herbstii
Summary
Insecta is the most diverse class of animals, living in multiple habitats and feeding on various substrates[1]. While the anatomy and physiology of many Cerambycidae species are well understood, little is known about the complex bacterial and fungal consortia associated with their gut systems. According to previous research[4,7], symbiotic microbes can live in a variety of insect species, such as beetles, termites, cockroaches and others. It was reported that intestinal microorganisms can convert lignin in the gut systems of some cerambycid beetles[8]. Several bacterial species isolated from beetle guts can metabolize terpenoid molecules, which helps the beetles to colonize the host trees[9]. Investigating the intestinal bacterial and fungal consortia structures of xylophagous insects with limited diets is necessary to better understand the potential role of gut microbes in cellulose/hemicellulose/lignin transformation, nitrogen fixation and other processes. Microorganisms within the insect intestine are important sources of novel enzymes and can be used in biological control and new pest management strategies[7]
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