Gut Bacterial and Fungal Communities of the Wild and Laboratory-Reared <i>Thitarodes</i> Larvae, Host of the Chinese Medicinal Fungus <i>Ophiocordyceps sinensis</i> on Tibetan Plateau

• Main Authors: Guiqing Liu, Xuehong Zheng, Hailin Long, Zhongchen Rao, Li Cao, Richou Han
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2021-04-01
• Series: Insects
• Subjects: ghost moth; <i>Thitarodes</i>; <i>Ophiocordyceps sinensis</i>; microbiota; high-altitude; artificial rearing
• Online Access: https://www.mdpi.com/2075-4450/12/4/327

By employing a culture-dependent and -independent 16S rRNA and ITS gene high-throughput sequencing analyses, comprehensive information was obtained on the gut bacterial and fungal communities in the ghost moth larvae of three different geographic locations from high-altitude on Tibet plateau and from low-altitude laboratory. Twenty-six culturable bacterial species belonging to 21 genera and 14 fungal species belonging to 12 genera were identified from six populations by culture-dependent method. <i>Carnobacterium maltaromaticum</i> was the most abundant bacterial species from both the wild and laboratory-reared larvae. The most abundant OTUs in the wild ghost moth populations were Carnobacteriaceae, Enterobacteriaceae for bacteria, and Ascomycota and Basidiomycota for fungi. Larval microbial communities of the wild ghost moth from different geographic locations were not significantly different from each other but significant difference in larval microbial community was detected between the wild and laboratory-reared ghost moth. The larval gut of the wild ghost moth was dominated by the culturable <i>Carnobacterium</i>. However, that of the laboratory-reared ghost moth exhibited significantly abundant <i>Wolbachia</i>, <i>Rhizobium</i>, <i>Serratia</i>, <i>Pseudomonas,</i> and <i>Flavobacterium</i>. Furthermore, the larval gut of the wild ghost moth had a significantly higher abundance of <i>Ophiocordyceps</i> but lower abundance of <i>Candida</i> and <i>Aspergillus</i> than that of the laboratory-reared ghost moth.