Seasonally variable intestinal metagenomes of the red palm weevil ( R hynchophorus ferrugineus )

Abstract

Summary The intestinal microbes residing in the red palm weevil ( RPW , R hynchophorus ferrugineus ) larva consume tender interior fibrous tissues of date palm trunks. The understanding of such microbiota at molecular level provides vital clues for the biological control of this devastating pest. Using pyrosequencing and shotgun strategy, we first study taxonomic profiles of the microbiota sampled at different months ( M arch, J uly and N ovember), and then confirm the impact of high‐temperature stress on the microbial populations based on data from 16S rRNA amplicons using both field and laboratory samples. We further identify K lebsiella pneumoniae in N ovember and L actococcus lactis in J uly as the dominant species of the microbiota. We find that the RPW gut microbiota degrades polysaccharides and sucrose with hydrolases and that different active bacterial species in N ovember and J uly are responsible for the symbiotic relationship between the microbiota and the host. Our results provide vital information for pest control and cellulolytic bacterial species characterization.

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