Legacy of a Butterfly's Parental Microbiome in Offspring Performance.

ABSTRACT: An insect's phenotype can be influenced by the experiences of the parental generation. However, the effects of the parental symbiotic microbiome and host plant use on the offspring are unclear. We addressed this gap of knowledge by studying Pieris brassicae, a multivoltine butterfly species feeding on different brassicaceous plants across generations. We investigated how disturbance of the parental bacterial community by antibiotic treatment affects F₁ larval traits. We tested the effects depending on whether F₁ larvae are feeding on the same plant species as their parents or on a different one. The parental treatment alone had no impact on the biomass of F₁ larvae feeding on the parental plant species. However, the parental treatment had a detriment

SUBMITTER: Paniagua Voirol LR 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7267186 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature