Influence of native and exotic plant diet on the gut microbiome of the Gray's Malayan stick insect, Lonchodes brevipes.

ABSTRACT: Herbivorous insects require an active lignocellulolytic microbiome to process their diet. Stick insects (phasmids) are common in the tropics and display a cosmopolitan host plant feeding preference. The microbiomes of social insects are vertically transmitted to offspring, while for solitary species, such as phasmids, it has been assumed that microbiomes are acquired from their diet. This study reports the characterization of the gut microbiome for the Gray's Malayan stick insect, Lonchodes brevipes, reared on native and introduced species of host plants and compared to the microbiome of the host plant and surrounding soil to gain insight into possible sources of recruitment. Clear differences in the gut microbiome occurred between insects fed on native and exotic plant diets, and t

SUBMITTER: Lim YZ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10412900 | biostudies-literature | 2023

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature