Functional and Compositional Changes in Sirex noctilio Gut Microbiome in Different Habitats: Unraveling the Complexity of Invasive Adaptation

• Published in: International journal of molecular sciences Vol. 25; no. 5; p. 2526
• Main Authors: Li, Jiale, Fu, Ningning, Wang, Ming, Gao, Chenglong, Gao, Bingtao, Ren, Lili, Tao, Jing, Luo, Youqing
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland MDPI AG 21.02.2024; MDPI
• Subjects: Animals; biological invasion; community assembly; Diet; Digestive system; Eggs; evolutionary adaptations; Fungi; Gastrointestinal Microbiome; Geography; gut microbiome; Insects; Larva; Microbiota; Microorganisms; Nonnative species; Pinus; Sirex noctilio; Wasps - microbiology; Mongolia; Heilongjiang China; China; Jilin China; Sirex noctilio; gut microbiome; biological invasion; community assembly; evolutionary adaptations
• DOI: 10.3390/ijms25052526
• ISSN: 1422-0067; 1661-6596

The mutualistic symbiosis relationship between the gut microbiome and their insect hosts has attracted much scientific attention. The native woodwasp, and the invasive European woodwasp, , are two pests that infest pines in northeastern China. Following its encounter with the native species, however, there is a lack of research on whether the gut microbiome of changed, what causes contributed to these alterations, and whether these changes were more conducive to invasive colonization. We used high-throughput and metatranscriptomic sequencing to investigate larval gut and frass from four sites where only and both two species and investigated the effects of environmental factors, biological interactions, and ecological processes on gut microbial community assembly. Amplicon sequencing of two species revealed differential patterns of bacterial and fungal composition and functional prediction. larval gut bacterial and fungal diversity was essentially higher in coexistence sites than in separate existence sites, and most of the larval gut bacterial and fungal community functional predictions were significantly different as well. Moreover, temperature and precipitation positively correlate with most of the highly abundant bacterial and fungal genera. Source-tracking analysis showed that larvae at coexistence sites remain dependent on adult gut transmission (vertical transmission) or recruitment to frass (horizontal transmission). Meanwhile, stochastic processes of drift and dispersal limitation also have important impacts on the assembly of larval gut microbiome, especially at coexistence sites. In summary, our results reveal the potential role of changes in larval gut microbiome in the successful colonization and better adaptation of the environment.