Comparative Community Ecology Reveals Conserved Ectoparasite Microbiomes Amidst Variable Host and Environment Microbiomes.

ABSTRACT: The microbiome-the community of microorganisms that is associated with an individual animal-has been an important driver of insect biodiversity globally, enabling insects to specialize in narrow, nutrient-deficient diets. The importance of maternally inherited, obligate bacterial endosymbionts in provisioning nutrients missing from these narrow dietary niches has been well studied in insects. However, we know comparatively little about the processes that dictate the composition of non-maternally inherited bacteria in insect microbiomes, despite the importance of these bacteria in insect health, fitness, and vector competence. Here, we used two species of obligate insect ectoparasites of bats, the bat flies (Streblidae) Trichobius sphaeronotus and Nycterophilia coxata, to exam

SUBMITTER: Speer KA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11962207 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature