Taxonomy, Diet, and Developmental Stage Contribute to the Structuring of Gut-Associated Bacterial Communities in Tephritid Pest Species.

Insect-symbiont interactions are receiving much attention in the last years. Symbiotic communities have been found to influence a variety of parameters regarding their host physiology and fitness. Gut symbiotic communities can be dynamic, changing through time and developmental stage. Whether these changes represent real differential needs and preferential relationships has not been addressed yet. In this study, we characterized the structure of symbiotic communities of five laboratory populations that represent five Tephritidae species that are targets for pest control management through the sterile insect technique (SIT), namely , and two morphotypes of (sp.1 and the Andean lineage). These populations are under artificial or semi artificial rearing conditions and their characterization was performed for different developmental stages and age. Our results demonstrate the presence of a symbiotic community comprising mainly from different Enterobacteriaceae genera. These communities are dynamic across developmental stages, although not highly variable, and appear to have a species-specific profile. Additional factors may contribute to the observed structuring, including diet, rearing practices, and the degree of domestication. Comparison of these results with those derived from natural populations could shed light to changes occurring in the symbiotic level during domestication of Tephritidae populations. Further studies will elucidate whether the changes are associated with modification of the behavior in laboratory strains and assess their effects in the quality of the mass rearing insects. This could be beneficial for improving environmentally friendly, species-specific, pest control methods, such as the SIT.