AUTHOR=Yu Man , Li Yang , Ji Jingyuan , Lei Yonghui , Sun Yanfei 

TITLE=Gut yeast diversity of Helicoverpa armigera (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) under different dietary conditions

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Microbiology

VOLUME=15

YEAR=2024

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/microbiology/articles/10.3389/fmicb.2024.1287083

DOI=10.3389/fmicb.2024.1287083

ISSN=1664-302X

ABSTRACT=<p>Yeast is one of the important symbiotic flora in the insect gut. However, little is known about the gut yeast in <italic>Helicoverpa armigera</italic> (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) under various dietary conditions. The composition and function of the intestinal yeast community also remain unclear. In this research, we explored the composition of yeast microorganisms in <italic>H. armigera</italic> larvae under different feeding environments, including apple, pear, tomato, artificial diet (laboratory feeding), <italic>Urtica fissa</italic>, <italic>Helianthus annuus</italic>, and <italic>Zinnia elegans</italic> (wild environment) using high-throughput sequencing. Results showed that a total of 43 yeast OTU readings were obtained, comprising 33 yeast genera and 42 yeast species. The yeast genera with a total content of more than 5% were <italic>Hanseniaspora</italic> (36.27%), <italic>Moesziomyces</italic> (21.47%), <italic>Trichosporon</italic> (16.20%), <italic>Wickerhamomyces</italic> (12.96%) and <italic>Pichia</italic> (6.38%). <italic>Hanseniaspora</italic> was predominant when fed indoors with fruits, whereas <italic>Moesziomyces</italic> was only detected in the wild group (<italic>Urtica fissa</italic>, <italic>Helianthus annuus</italic>, <italic>Zinnia elegans</italic>) and the artificial diet group. After transferring the larvae from artificial diet to apple, pear and tomato, the composition of intestinal yeast community changed, mainly reflected in the increased relative abundance of <italic>Hanseniaspora</italic> and the decreased abundance of <italic>Trichosporon</italic>. Simultaneously, the results of α diversity index indicated that the intestinal yeast microbial diversity of <italic>H. armigera</italic> fed on wild plants was higher than that of indoor artificial feeding. PCoA and PERMANOVA analysis concluded that there were significant differences in the gut yeast composition of <italic>H. armigera</italic> larvae on different diets. Our results confirmed that gut yeast communities of <italic>H. armigera</italic> can be influenced by host diets and may play an important role in host adaptation.</p>