Culturable aerobic and facultative bacteria from the gut of the polyphagic dung beetle Thorectes lusitanicus Jeckel
Investigation published in Insect Science
April 1st, 2015
Unlike other dung beetles, the Iberian geotrupid Thorectes lusitanicus exhibits polyphagous behavior; for example, it is able to eat acorns, fungi, fruits, and carrion in addition to the dung of different mammals. This adaptation to digest a wider diet has physiological and developmental advantages and requires key changes in the composition and diversity of the beetle`s gut microbiota. In this study, we isolated aerobic, facultative anaerobic, and aerotolerant microbiota amenable to grow in culture from the gut contents of T. lusitanicus and resolved isolate identity to the species level by sequencing 16S rRNA gene fragments. Using BLAST similarity searches and maximum likelihood phylogenetic analyses, we were able to reveal that the analyzed fraction (culturable, aerobic, facultative anaerobic, and aerotolerant) of beetle gut microbiota is dominated by the phyla Proteobacteria, Firmicutes and Actinobacteria. Among Proteobacteria, members of the order Enterobacteriales (Gammaproteobacteria) were the most abundant. The main functions associated with the bacteria found in the gut of T. lusitanicus would likely include nitrogen fixation, denitrification, detoxification, and diverse defensive roles against pathogens. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved
Hernandez N., Escudero JA., San Millan A., Gonzalez-Zorn B., Lobo JM., Verdu JR. and Suarez M.
 | Servicio de Zoonosis de Transmisión Alimentaria y Resistencia a Antimicrobianos (ZTA). Centro de Vigilancia Sanitaria Veterinaria (VISAVET). Universidad Complutense (UCM). |
| Departamento de Sanidad Animal. Facultad de Veterinaria. Universidad Complutense (UCM). |
 | Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales (MNCN). Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC). |
 | Centro Iberoamericano de la Biodiversidad (CIBIO). Universidad de Alicante (UA). |
