The gut bacterial communities across six grasshopper species from a coastal tallgrass prairie

PLoS One. 2020 Jan 30;15(1):e0228406. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0228406. eCollection 2020.

Abstract

Insect microbiomes play an important role in the health and fitness of insect hosts by contributing to nutrient absorption, immune health, and overall ecological fitness. As such, research interests in insect microbiomes have focused on agriculturally and industrially important organisms such as honey bees and termites. Orthopterans, on the other hand, have not been well explored for their resident microbial communities. Grasshoppers are an integral part of grassland ecosystems and provide important ecosystem services. Conversely, grasshoppers can be an agricultural pest requiring management with broad spectrum pesticides. However, little is known about the microbiomes of grasshoppers and their potential contribution to grasshopper biology. Here we examine the gut microbiome of six species of grasshoppers (n = 60) from a coastal tallgrass prairie ecosystem to gain a better understanding of the microbial communities present across the orthopteran order in this ecosystem. We found that there are bacterial phyla common to all six grasshopper species: Actinobacteria, Proteobacteria, Firmicutes, and to a lesser degree, Tenericutes. Although the grasshopper species shared a high relative abundance of these groups, there were notable shifts in dominant phyla depending on the grasshopper species. Moreover, measures of alpha diversity revealed a more diverse microbiome in males than females. Our observations support the hypothesis that there is a "core" group of bacterial families in these grasshopper species and factors such as trophic behaviors and the evolution of the host may contribute to the shifts in prevalence among these core microbial groups.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
  • Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Bacteria / classification*
  • Bacteria / genetics
  • Bacteria / isolation & purification
  • DNA, Bacterial / genetics
  • DNA, Ribosomal / genetics
  • Female
  • Gastrointestinal Microbiome
  • Grasshoppers / classification
  • Grasshoppers / microbiology*
  • Grassland
  • Male
  • Phylogeny
  • RNA, Ribosomal, 16S / genetics*
  • Sequence Analysis, DNA / methods*
  • Sex Characteristics
  • Species Specificity

Substances

  • DNA, Bacterial
  • DNA, Ribosomal
  • RNA, Ribosomal, 16S

Grants and funding

This work was supported by the STEM Catalyst Grant (CP and YS) and the Keck Environmental Fellowship (MM) from the University of Dayton. MM was also supported by the University of Dayton Graduate Student Summer Fellowship. Grasshoppers were collected from a study funded by NSF to CP (DEB #1457114 and #1724663). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.