Gut bacterial and fungal communities of the domesticated silkworm (Bombyx mori) and wild mulberry-feeding relatives.

ABSTRACT: Bombyx mori, the domesticated silkworm, is of great importance as a silk producer and as a powerful experimental model for the basic and applied research. Similar to other animals, abundant microorganisms live inside the silkworm gut; however, surprisingly, the microbiota of this model insect has not been well characterized to date. Here, we comprehensively characterized the gut microbiota of the domesticated silkworm and its wild relatives. Comparative analyses with the mulberry-feeding moths Acronicta major and Diaphania pyloalis revealed a highly diverse but distinctive silkworm gut microbiota despite thousands of years of domestication, and stage-specific signatures in both total (DNA-based) and active (RNA-based) bacterial populations, dominated by the phyla Proteobacteria, Firmicutes

SUBMITTER: Chen B 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6092317 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature