Distinct gut bacterial composition in reared on two host plants.

(Coleoptera: Cerambycidae: Lamiinae) is an invasive wood borer pest that has caused considerable damage to forests. Gut bacteria are of great importance in the biology and ecology of herbivores, especially in growth and adaptation; however, change in the gut bacterial community of this pest feeding on different hosts is largely unknown. In this study, we investigated the gut bacterial communities of larvae fed on different preferred hosts, and , using 16S rDNA high-throughput sequencing technology. A total of 15 phyla, 25 classes, 65 orders, 114 families, 188 genera, and 170 species were annotated in the gut of larvae fed on or using a 97% similarity cutoff level. The dominant phyla were Firmicutes and Proteobacteria and the core dominant genera were , , , , and . There was significantly higher alpha diversity in the group than in the group, and principal co-ordinate analysis showed significant differences in gut bacterial communities between the two groups. The genera with significant abundance differences between the two groups were , , , , , , , and , indicating that the abundance of larval gut bacteria was affected by feeding on different hosts. Further network diagrams showed that the complexity of the network structure and the modularity were higher in the group than in the group, suggesting more diverse gut bacteria in the group. The dominant role of most gut microbiota was related to fermentation and chemoheterotrophy, and specific OTUs positively correlated with different functions were reported. Our study provides an essential resource for the gut bacteria functional study of associated with host diet.