Gut microbiota facilitate adaptation of invasive moths to new host plants

Abstract

Gut microbiota are important in the adaptation of phytophagous insects to their plant hosts. However, the interaction between gut microbiomes and pioneering populations of invasive insects during their adaptation to new hosts, particularly in the initial phases of invasion, has been less studied. We studied the contribution of the gut microbiome to host adaptation in the globally recognized invasive pest, Hyphantria cunea, as it expands its range into southern China. The southern population of H. cunea shows effective adaptation to Metasequoia glyptostroboides and exhibits greater larval survival on Metasequoia than the original population. Genome resequencing revealed no significant differences in functions related to host adaptation between the two populations. The compatibility between southern H. cunea populations and M. glyptostroboides revealed a correlation between the abundance of several gut bacteria genera (Bacteroides, Blautia, and Coprococcus) and H. cunea survival. Transplanting the larval gut microbiome from southern to northern populations enhanced the adaptability of the latter to the previously unsuitable plant M. glyptostroboides. This research provides evidence that the gut microbiome of pioneering populations can enhance the compatibility of invasive pests to new hosts and enable more rapid adaptation to new habitats.

Elucidating the structure, and composition of bacterial symbionts in the gut regions of wood-feeding termite, Coptotermes formosanus and their functional profile towards lignocellulolytic systems

“…At the family level, Porphyromonadaceae, Spirochaetaceae, Lachnospiraceae, Moraxellaceae, Enterobacteriaceae, Ruminicoccaceae, and Streptococcaceae exhibited the highest species richness across all three gut-regions. The majority of the taxa of these bacterial families prefer gut systems of termites and invertebrates, comprising a diverse array of genus-level lineages ( Bourguignon et al, 2018 ; Huang et al, 2022 ; Zhang et al, 2024 ). The dominance of Porphyromonadaceae is consistent with other lower termites such as Stolotermes ruficeps ( Reid et al, 2014 ).…”

Microbiomes, diet flexibility, and the spread of a beetle parasite of honey bees

“…Weevils exhibit convergence in their gut microbial communities when feeding on similar food sources, suggesting that these communities are determined by the environment and host ecology (Berasategui et al, 2016). The gut microbiota help invasive moths feed on new host plant (Zhang et al, 2024). Beetles feed on different plants (generalists) harbor more complex microbes than the specialists (Brunetti et al, 2022).…”