Gut Bacterial Communities of Lymantria xylina and Their Associations with Host Development and Diet

Abstract

The gut microbiota of insects has a wide range of effects on host nutrition, physiology, and behavior. The structure of gut microbiota may also be shaped by their environment, causing them to adjust to their hosts; thus, the objective of this study was to examine variations in the morphological traits and gut microbiota of Lymantria xylina in response to natural and artificial diets using high-throughput sequencing. Regarding morphology, the head widths for larvae fed on a sterilized artificial diet were smaller than for larvae fed on a non-sterilized host-plant diet in the early instars. The gut microbiota diversity of L. xylina fed on different diets varied significantly, but did not change during different development periods. This seemed to indicate that vertical inheritance occurred in L. xylina mutualistic symbionts. Acinetobacter and Enterococcus were dominant in/on eggs. In the first instar larvae, Acinetobacter accounted for 33.52% of the sterilized artificial diet treatment, while Enterococcus (67.88%) was the predominant bacteria for the non-sterilized host-plant diet treatment. Gut microbe structures were adapted to both diets through vertical inheritance and self-regulation. This study clarified the impacts of microbial symbiosis on L. xylina and might provide new possibilities for improving the control of these bacteria.

The Gut Microbiota Composition of Cnaphalocrocis medinalis and Their Predicted Contribution to Larval Nutrition

“…This indicated the larvae of C. medinalis might maintain essentially groups of bacteria residing in the gut. The results in the present study were not entirely consistent with the previous studies to some other lepidopteran insects, L. xylina , S. litura , and H. armigera , with which the dominant bacteria were significantly affected by different diets ( Priya et al, 2012 ; Xia et al, 2020 ; Ma et al, 2021 ). This difference might result from different feeding habits, L. xylina , S. litura , and H. armigera are all highly polyphagous, while C. medinalis is oligophagous, and the larvae are almost only exclusively in rice.…”

Loss and Gain of Gut Bacterial Phylotype Symbionts in Afrotropical Stingless Bee Species (Apidae: Meliponinae)

“…With the increased number of insect models used for beneficial gut bacterial studies, there is cumulative evidence that insect gut microbiota play an important role in insect physiology, organ development, protection against natural enemies and help in their nutrition and detoxification. Additionally, they are involved in immune response activation and communication [26][27][28][29][30][31]. Bee gut bacterial communities are not an exception [32][33][34][35][36][37][38][39].…”

Characterization of cultivable intestinal microbiota in Rhynchophorus palmarum Linnaeus (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) and determination of its cellulolytic activity

“…Studies indicate that Enterococcus plays an important role for the host, protecting against pathogenic invasion (Grau et al, 2017; M. Ma et al, 2021), and contributing to insecticide resistance (Li et al, 2021; Medina et al, 2018). Thus, Broderick et al (2003, 2004) observed that Lymantria dispar larvae (gypsy moth) were more susceptible to Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) toxin, also presented a smaller intestinal bacteria population (especially of E. faecalis ) which leads to a decrease in midgut pH.…”

“…The insect intestinal microbiota is not only associated with the acquisition of nutrients but plays an important role in the development and maintenance of the host's immune system (Y. Chen et al, 2021; Muhammad et al, 2019). However, the complexity, dynamics, and types of interactions between insects and their intestinal microbiota are not yet fully understood (Q. Ma et al, 2021; Xu et al, 2015).…”