Role of Gut Bacteria in Enhancing Host Adaptation of <i>Tuta absoluta</i> to Different Host Plants
The insect gut bacteria play important roles in insect development and growth, such as immune defense, nutrient metabolism, regulating insect adaptations for plants, etc. The <i>Tuta absoluta</i> (Meyrick) is a destructive invasive pest that mainly feeds on solanaceae plants. However, th...
Saved in:
| Main Authors: | , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
MDPI AG
2024-10-01
|
| Series: | Insects |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2075-4450/15/10/795 |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| Summary: | The insect gut bacteria play important roles in insect development and growth, such as immune defense, nutrient metabolism, regulating insect adaptations for plants, etc. The <i>Tuta absoluta</i> (Meyrick) is a destructive invasive pest that mainly feeds on solanaceae plants. However, the relationship between gut microflora and host adaption of <i>T. absoluta</i> remains to be known. In this study, we first compared the survival adaptability of <i>T. absoluta</i> feeding with two host plants (tomatoes and potatoes). The <i>T. absoluta</i> completed the generation cycle by feeding on the leaves of both plants. However, the larvae feeding on tomato leaves have shorter larvae durations, longer adult durations, and a greater number of egg production per female. After Single Molecular Real-Time (SMRT) sequencing, according to the LDA Effect Size (LEfSe) analysis, the gut bacterial biomarker of <i>T. absoluta</i> fed on tomato was <i>Enterobacter cloacae</i> and the gut bacterial biomarker of <i>T. absoluta</i> fed on potatoes was <i>Staphylococcus gallinarum</i> and <i>Enterococcus gallinarum</i>. Furthermore, a total of 6 and 7 culturable bacteria were isolated from the guts of tomato- and potato-treated <i>T. absoluta</i>, respectively. However, the isolated strains included bacterial biomarkers <i>E. cloacae</i> and <i>S. gallinarum</i> but not <i>E. gallinarum</i>. In addition, different stains bacterial biomarkers on <i>T. absoluta</i> feeding selection were also studied. <i>E. cloacae</i> enhanced the host preference of the SLTA (<i>T. absoluta</i> of tomato strain) for tomato but had no impact on STTA (<i>T. absoluta</i> of potato strain). <i>S. gallinarum</i> improved the host preference of STTA to a potato but did not affect SLTA. The results showed that the gut bacteria of <i>T. absoluta</i> were affected by exposure to different host plants, and the bacterial biomarkers played an important role in host adaptability. This study not only deepens our understanding of gut bacteria-mediated insect-plant interactions but also provides theoretical support for the development of environmentally friendly and effective agricultural pest control methods. |
|---|---|
| ISSN: | 2075-4450 |