Gut microbiomes of cycad-feeding insects tolerant to β-methylamino-L-alanine (BMAA) are rich in siderophore biosynthesis.

ABSTRACT: Ingestion of the cycad toxins β-methylamino-L-alanine (BMAA) and azoxyglycosides is harmful to diverse organisms. However, some insects are specialized to feed on toxin-rich cycads with apparent immunity. Some cycad-feeding insects possess a common set of gut bacteria, which might play a role in detoxifying cycad toxins. Here, we investigated the composition of gut microbiota from a worldwide sample of cycadivorous insects and characterized the biosynthetic potential of selected bacteria. Cycadivorous insects shared a core gut microbiome consisting of six bacterial taxa, mainly belonging to the Proteobacteria, which we were able to isolate. To further investigate selected taxa from diverging lineages, we performed shotgun metagenomic sequencing of co-cultured bacterial sub-communities. We

SUBMITTER: Gutierrez-Garcia K 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10665472 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature