The effect of diet composition on the diversity of active gut bacteria and on the growth of Spodoptera exigua (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae).

ABSTRACT: Gut microbiota plays a functional role in nutrition among several insects. However, the situation is unclear in Lepidoptera. Field studies suggest the microbiome may not be stable and is determined by diet, while in the laboratory, Lepidoptera are routinely reared on diet containing antibiotics with unknown effects on microbial communities. Furthermore, molecular approaches for the characterization of lepidopteran microbiomes rarely describe the metabolically active gut bacteria. The aim of this study was to evaluate how diet and antibiotics affect Spodoptera exigua (Hübner) growth and the diversity and activity of the gut bacteria community. We assessed how alfalfa and wheat germ-based diets affected larval growth, in the presence and absence of streptomycin. Alfalfa diet improved larval

SUBMITTER: Mugo-Kamiri L 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10956968 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature