Microbial diversity in the midguts of field and lab-reared populations of the European corn borer Ostrinia nubilalis.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Insects are associated with microorganisms that contribute to the digestion and processing of nutrients. The European Corn Borer (ECB) is a moth present world-wide, causing severe economical damage as a pest on corn and other crops. In the present work, we give a detailed view of the complexity of the microorganisms forming the ECB midgut microbiota with the objective of comparing the biodiversity of the midgut-associated microbiota and explore their potential as a source of genes and enzymes with biotechnological applications.

Methodological/principal findings

A high-throughput sequencing approach has been used to identify bacterial species, genes and metabolic pathways, particularly those involved in plant-matter degradation, in two different ECB populations (fi

SUBMITTER: Belda E 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3128089 | biostudies-literature | 2011

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature