The B vitamin nutrition of insects: the contributions of diet, microbiome and horizontally acquired genes

• Published in: Current opinion in insect science Vol. 23; pp. 65 - 69
• Main Author: Douglas, Angela E
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Netherlands Elsevier Inc 01.10.2017
• Subjects: Animals; Diet; Gene Transfer, Horizontal; Genes, Bacterial; Insecta - genetics; Insecta - metabolism; Insecta - physiology; Microbiota - physiology; Vitamin B Complex - biosynthesis; Vitamin B Complex - metabolism; Vitamin B Deficiency
• ISSN: 2214-5745; 2214-5753; 2214-5745
• DOI: 10.1016/j.cois.2017.07.012

[Display omitted] •Insects cannot synthesize 8 B vitamins de novo.•Many insects derive B vitamins from microorganisms in their gut or tissues.•Whitefly and mealybug genomes bear B vitamin biosynthesis genes of bacterial origin.•Biomarkers of vitamin deficiency identify insect life stages with high vitamin demand. Insects generally cannot synthesize eight B vitamins that function as co-enzymes in various required enzymatic reactions. Most insects derive their B vitamin requirements from the diet, microbial symbionts, or a combination of these complementary sources. Exceptionally, the genomes of a few insects bear genes in vitamin B5 (pantothenate) and B7 (biotin) synthesis, horizontally acquired from bacteria. Biomarkers of B vitamin deficiency (e.g. vitamin titers, activity of vitamin-dependent enzymes) offer routes to investigate the incidence and the physiological and fitness consequences of B vitamin deficiency in laboratory and field populations of insects.