title: Diversity of insect intestinal microflora.
abstract: The influence of geographic location, season, age, and part of the digestive tract on bacterial diversity was evaluated on intestinal microflora of honeybees, wasps, and cockroaches using DGGE analysis. PCR-DGGE analyses with universal bacterial primers targeting 200-bp region of the 16S rDNA gene afforded the profile of complex bacterial DNA; specific primers were used to determine the profile of bifidobacteria whose concentration in digestive tract was determined by real-time PCR. Selected PCR products were identified by sequencing. The microflora of the bees exhibited little variations among the hives from distant locations. Their bifidobacterial population formed 2.8-8.4 % of total bacteria and was very homogeneous. The total gut microflora of wasps was also homogeneous, only two samples being affected by the season or the location; on the other hand, wasp bifidobacterial population was very heterogeneous. Cockroaches showed the highest variations in microflora composition, the age and diet being the ultimate factors; bifidobacteria counts also varied among tested individuals (0.1-34.1 % of total bacteria). Our results suggest that nutrition habits are the strongest factor affecting the insect microflora, giving higher variations to omnivorous species.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Animal Physiology and Genetics, v.v.i., Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, 142 20 Prague, Czechia. mrazek@iapg.cas.cz
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Mrázek
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Strosová
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Fliegerová
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kott
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Kopecný
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001419:Bacteria / Q000145:classification* / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification; D001516:Bees / Q000382:microbiology*; D001644:Bifidobacterium / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification; D003058:Cockroaches / Q000382:microbiology*; D004269:DNA, Bacterial / Q000032:analysis / Q000302:isolation & purification; D004275:DNA, Ribosomal / Q000032:analysis; D014644:Genetic Variation; D007313:Insecta / Q000382:microbiology; D007422:Intestines / Q000382:microbiology*; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction / Q000379:methods; D012336:RNA, Ribosomal, 16S / Q000235:genetics; D014863:Wasps / Q000382:microbiology*
chemical_list: D004269:DNA, Bacterial; D004275:DNA, Ribosomal; D012336:RNA, Ribosomal, 16S