Soil Environments Influence Gut Prokaryotic Communities in the Larvae of the Invasive Japanese Beetle Popillia japonica Newman.

ABSTRACT: Invasive scarab beetles, like the Japanese beetle Popillia japonica Newman (JB), spend most of their lives as larvae feeding in the soil matrix. Despite the potential importance of the larval gut microbial community in driving the behavior, physiology, and nutritional ecology of this invasive insect, the role of soil biological and physicochemical characteristics in shaping this community are relatively unknown. Our objectives were to (1) characterize the degree to which larval gut microbial communities are environmentally acquired, (2) examine the combined effects of the gut region (i.e., midgut, hindgut) and local soil environments on gut microbial communities, and (3) search for soil physicochemical correlates that could be useful in future studies aimed at characterizing gut mic

SUBMITTER: Avila-Arias H 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9094118 | biostudies-literature | 2022

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature