Department of Fundamental Microbiology, University of Lausanne, 1015, Lausanne, Switzerland.
Department of Fundamental Microbiology, University of Lausanne, 1015, Lausanne, Switzerland
J Exp Biol. 2021 Jan 28;224(Pt 2):jeb207696. doi: 10.1242/jeb.207696.
Insects are the most diverse group of animals and colonize almost all environments on our planet. This diversity is reflected in the structure and function of the microbial communities inhabiting the insect digestive system. As in mammals, the gut microbiota of insects can have important symbiotic functions, complementing host nutrition, facilitating dietary breakdown or providing protection against pathogens. There is an increasing number of insect models that are experimentally tractable, facilitating mechanistic studies of gut microbiota-host interactions. In this Review, we will summarize recent findings that have advanced our understanding of the molecular mechanisms underlying the symbiosis between insects and their gut microbiota. We will open the article with a general introduction to the insect gut microbiota and then turn towards the discussion of particular mechanisms and molecular processes governing the colonization of the insect gut environment as well as the diverse beneficial roles mediated by the gut microbiota. The Review highlights that, although the gut microbiota of insects is an active field of research with implications for fundamental and applied science, we are still in an early stage of understanding molecular mechanisms. However, the expanding capability to culture microbiomes and to manipulate microbe-host interactions in insects promises new molecular insights from diverse symbioses.
昆虫是动物中最多样化的群体，几乎占据了我们星球上所有的环境。这种多样性反映在栖息于昆虫消化系统中的微生物群落的结构和功能上。与哺乳动物一样，昆虫的肠道微生物群可以发挥重要的共生功能，补充宿主的营养，促进饮食分解，或提供对病原体的保护。越来越多的昆虫模型具有可实验操作性，有助于研究肠道微生物群与宿主相互作用的机制。在这篇综述中，我们将总结最近的发现，这些发现增进了我们对昆虫与其肠道微生物群之间共生关系的分子机制的理解。我们将从昆虫肠道微生物群的一般介绍开始，然后转向讨论控制昆虫肠道环境定殖的特定机制和分子过程，以及肠道微生物群介导的各种有益作用。这篇综述强调，尽管昆虫的肠道微生物群是一个具有基础和应用科学意义的活跃研究领域，但我们仍处于理解分子机制的早期阶段。然而，培养微生物组和操纵昆虫中微生物-宿主相互作用的能力不断扩大，有望从各种共生关系中获得新的分子见解。
