Department of Ecology, Environment and Plant Sciences, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden.
Department of Ecology, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Uppsala, Sweden.
Microb Ecol. 2023 Nov;86(4):2477-2487. doi: 10.1007/s00248-023-02251-5. Epub 2023 Jun 14.
Gut microbes play important roles for their hosts. Previous studies suggest that host-microbial systems can form long-term associations over evolutionary time and the dynamic changes of the intestinal system may represent major driving forces and contribute to insect dietary diversification and speciation. Our study system includes a set of six closely related leaf beetle species (Galerucella spp.) and our study aims to separate the roles of host phylogeny and ecology in determining the gut microbial community and to identify eventual relationship between host insects and gut bacteria. We collected adult beetles from their respective host plants and quantified their microbial community using 16S rRNA sequencing. The results showed that the gut bacteria community composition was structured by host beetle phylogeny, where more or less host-specific gut bacteria interact with the different Galerucella species. For example, the endosymbiotic bacteria Wolbachia was found almost exclusively in G. nymphaea and G. sagittariae. Diversity indicators also suggested that α- and β-diversities of gut bacteria communities varied among host beetle species. Overall, our results suggest a phylogenetically controlled co-occurrence pattern between the six closely related Galerucella beetles and their gut bacteria, indicating the potential of co-evolutionary processes occurring between hosts and their gut bacterial communities.
肠道微生物对其宿主起着重要作用。先前的研究表明，宿主-微生物系统可以在进化过程中形成长期的关联，肠道系统的动态变化可能代表主要驱动力，并有助于昆虫饮食多样化和物种形成。我们的研究系统包括一组六种密切相关的叶甲（Galerucella spp.），我们的研究旨在分离宿主进化和生态在决定肠道微生物群落中的作用，并确定宿主昆虫和肠道细菌之间的最终关系。我们从各自的宿主植物中收集成年甲虫，并使用 16S rRNA 测序来量化它们的微生物群落。结果表明，肠道细菌群落组成受宿主甲虫的系统发育结构的影响，不同的 Galerucella 物种与或多或少的宿主特异性肠道细菌相互作用。例如，内共生细菌 Wolbachia 几乎只存在于 G. nymphaea 和 G. sagittariae 中。多样性指标还表明，肠道细菌群落的 α-和β-多样性在宿主甲虫物种之间存在差异。总体而言，我们的研究结果表明，六种密切相关的 Galerucella 甲虫与其肠道细菌之间存在受系统发育控制的共生模式，这表明宿主与其肠道细菌群落之间可能存在共同进化的过程。
