title: Microbial communities in the larval midgut of laboratory and field populations of cotton bollworm (Helicoverpa armigera).
abstract: We compared the bacterial communities in the larval midgut of field and laboratory populations of a polyphagous pest, the cotton bollworm (Helicoverpa armigera), using denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) of amplified 16S rDNA sequences and 16S library sequence analysis. DGGE profiles and 16S rDNA library sequence analysis indicated similar patterns of midgut microbial community structure and diversity: specific bacterial types existed in both populations, and a more diverse microbial community was observed in caterpillars obtained from the field. The laboratory population harbored a rather simple gut microflora consisting mostly of phylotypes belonging to Enterococcus (84%). For the field population, phylotypes belonging to Enterococcus (28%) and Lactococcus (11%), as well as Flavobacterium (10%), Acinetobacter (19%), and Stenotrophomonas (10%) were dominant members. These results provided the first comprehensive description of the microbial diversity of the midgut of the important pest cotton bollworm and suggested that the environment and food supply might influence the diversity of the gut bacterial community.
authors.affiliation: Shanghai Institute of Plant Physiology and Ecology, Shanghai Institute Biological Sciences, The Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, China.
authors.forename: Hui
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Xiang
authors.forename: Gui-Fang
authors.initials: GF
authors.lastname: Wei
authors.forename: Shihai
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Jia
authors.forename: Jianhua
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.forename: Xue-Xia
authors.initials: XX
authors.lastname: Miao
authors.forename: Zhihua
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.forename: Li-Ping
authors.initials: LP
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.forename: Yong-Ping
authors.initials: YP
authors.lastname: Huang
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D044822:Biodiversity; D016172:DNA Fingerprinting; D004032:Diet; D004064:Digestive System / Q000382:microbiology*; D015723:Gene Library; D003368:Gossypium / Q000469:parasitology; D007915:Lepidoptera / Q000382:microbiology*; D012336:RNA, Ribosomal, 16S / Q000145:classification / Q000302:isolation & purification*
chemical_list: D012336:RNA, Ribosomal, 16S