• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.47 no.3
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• pp.423-433
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• 2019

Midgut microbiota is known to play a fundamental role in the biology and physiology of the agricultural pest, Spodoptera litura. This study reports the difference in the larval midgut microbiota of field-caught and laboratory-reared populations of S. litura by performing 16S rDNA amplicon pyrosequencing. Field populations for the study were collected from castor crops, whereas laboratory-reared larvae were fed on a regular chickpea based diet. In total, 23 bacterial phylotypes were observed from both laboratory-reared and field-caught caterpillars. Fisher's exact test with Storey's FDR multiple test correction demonstrated that bacterial genus, Clostridium was significantly abundant (p < 0.05) in field-caught larvae of S. litura as compared to that in the laboratory-reared larvae. Similarly, bacterial genera, such as Bradyrhizobium, Burkholderia, and Fibrisoma were identified (p < 0.05) predominantly in the laboratory-reared population. The Bray-Curtis dissimilarity matrix depicted a value of 0.986, which exhibited the maximum deviation between the midgut microbiota of the laboratory-reared and field-caught populations. No significant yeast diversity was seen in the laboratory-reared caterpillars. However, two yeast strains, namely Candida rugosa and Cyberlindnera fabianii were identified by PCR amplification and molecular cloning of the internal transcribed space region in the field-caught caterpillars. These results emphasize the differential colonization of gut residents based on environmental factors and diet.

• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• v.62 no.1
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• pp.117-130
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• 2024

Ticks host different pathogens as endosymbiont and nonpathogenic microorganisms and play an important role in reproductive fitness and nutrient provision. However, the bacterial microbiomes of white-tailed deer ticks have received minimal attention. This study aimed to examine the bacterial microbiome of ticks collected from Odocoileus virginianus on the Mexico-United States border to assess differences in microbiome diversity in ticks of different species, sexes, and localities. Five different tick species were collected: Rhipicephalus microplus, Dermacentor nitens, Otobius megnini, Amblyomma cajennense, and A. maculatum. The tick microbiomes were analyzed using next-generation sequencing. Among all tick species, the most predominant phylum was Proteobacteria, followed by Actinobacteria and Firmicutes. The ticks from Tamaulipas and Nuevo León presented the highest bacterial species diversity. Acinetobacter johnsonii and A. lwoffii were the common bacterial species in the microbiome of all ticks, Coxiella were present in R. microplus, and Dermacentor nitens also exhibited a Francisella-like endosymbiont. The microbiome of most females in D. nitens was less diverse than that of males, whereas R. microplus occurs in females, suggesting that microbiome diversity is influenced by sex. In the bacterial communities of A. maculatum and O. megnini, Candidatus Midichloria massiliensis, and Candidatus Endoecteinascidia fumentensis were the most predominant endosymbionts. These results constitute the initial report on these bacteria, and this is also the first study to characterize the microbiome of O. megnini.