Host-plant adaptation in xylophagous insect-microbiome systems: Contributionsof longicorns and gut symbionts revealed by parallel metatranscriptome.

Adaptation to host plants is of great significance in the ecology of xylophagous insects. The specific adaptation to woody tissues is made possible through microbial symbionts. We investigated the potential roles of detoxification, lignocellulose degradation, and nutrient supplementation of and its gut symbionts in host plant adaptation using metatranscriptome. The gut microbial community structure of that fed on the two plant species were found to be different. Plant compound detoxification and lignocellulose degradation genes have been identified in both beetles and gut symbionts. Most differentially expressed genes associated with host plant adaptations were up-regulated in larvae fed on the less suitable host () compared to larvae fed on the suitable host (). Our findings indicated that and its gut microbes respond to plant secondary substances through systematic transcriptome responses, allowing them to adapt to unsuitable host plants.