Comparison of intestinal bacterial and fungal communities across various xylophagous beetle larvae (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae)

Abstract

The microbial gut communities associated with various xylophagous beetles offer great potential for different biotechnologies and elaboration of novel pest management strategies. In this research, the intestinal bacterial and fungal communities of various cerambycid larvae, including Acmaeops septentrionis, Acanthocinus aedilis, Callidium coriaceum, Trichoferus campestris and Chlorophorus herbstii, were investigated. The intestinal microbial communities of these Cerambycidae species were mostly represented by members of the bacterial phyla Proteobacteria and Actinobacteria and the fungal phylum Ascomycota. However, the bacterial and fungal communities varied by beetle species and between individual organisms. Furthermore, bacterial communities' metagenomes reconstruction indicated the genes that encode enzymes involved in the lignocellulose degradation (such as peroxidases, alpha-L-fucosidases, beta-xylosidases, beta-mannosidases, endoglucanases, beta-glucosidases and others) and nitrogen fixation (nitrogenases). Most of the predicted genes potentially related to lignocellulose degradation were enriched in the T. campestris, A. aedilis and A. septentrionis larval gut consortia, whereas predicted genes affiliated with the nitrogenase component proteins were enriched in the T. campestris, A. septentrionis and C. herbstii larval gut consortia. Several bacteria and fungi detected in the current work could be involved in the nutrition of beetle larvae.