Intestinal Bacterial Diversity and Functional Analysis of Three Lepidopteran Corn Ear Worm Larvae

Abstract

Insects, as the most abundant animal group on earth, and their symbionts help their hosts to adapt to various environments. Conogethes punctiferalis, Ostrinia furnacalis and Helicoverpa armigera are three main pests co-occurring in the ear stage of corn, which significantly affect the yield and quality of corn. The purpose of this study was to compare the diversity and function of the intestinal bacteria of the three co-occurring lepidopteran pests, C. punctiferalis, O. furnacalis and H. armigera, and to explore the reason of their prevalence from the microbiota’s view. Our results showed the difference of diversity and abundance of the gut bacteria of three co-occurring lepidopteran pests at the ear stage. Proteobacteria and Firmicutes were the dominant phyla, and the Enterobacteriaceae and Enterococcaceae were the dominant families in the three pests. Compared with the other two pests, Bacteroidetes was found much more in C. punctiferalis. In addition, C. punctiferalis showed more correlation and similarity in bacteria composition with corn endophytic bacteria, as well as had obvious advantages in metabolic, environmental information processing, cellular processes and organic systems function pathways. Our findings may provide insight into the prevalence of corn earworm larvae from the perspective of gut microbiota and function prediction.

Improved reference quality genome sequence of the plastic-degrading greater wax moth, Galleria mellonella

“…Ostrinia furnacalis and Helicoverpa armigera ) with cellulose-degrading capability but no known PE-degrading activity ( Dar et al . 2018 ; Zhang et al . 2022 ) also appeared in the BLASTp results.…”

Symbiotic Bacterial Communities of Insects Feeding on the Same Plant Lineage: Distinct Composition but Congruent Function

“…Notably, Proteobacteria , Firmicutes , and Bacteroidetes are commonly found inside various insects and mammals [ 52 ]. Proteobacteria tend to dominate the microbiota of diverse invertebrates [ 53 ], including H. pensylvanicus and A. sanctaecruis [ 54 ], B. dorsalis [ 55 ], and H. hampei [ 47 ]. In our study, Hemipteran samples were conquered by Proteobacteria and Firmicutes , while Lepidopteran insects had three dominant bacterial phyla: Proteobacteria , Cyanobacteria , and Firmicutes .…”

Shotgun metagenomics reveals the gut microbial diversity and functions in Vespa mandarinia (Hymenoptera: Vespidae) at multiple life stages

“…As an important economic insect in Yunnan Province (China), current cultivation technology of wasp cannot meet the increasing demands of food and medicinal usage. Some gut microorganisms contribute to the host's development by regulating the microenvironment of the gut (Zhang J. et al, 2022 ). To gain more knowledge about the role that gut microbiota play in the growth of wasps, a metagenomic analysis of the three developmental stages of V. mandarinia is conducted in this research.…”