title: Yeast: An Overlooked Component of Bactrocera tryoni (Diptera: Tephritidae) Larval Gut Microbiota.
abstract: Yeasts, often in hydrolyzed form, are key ingredients in the larval and adult diets of tephritid fruit fly colonies. However, very little is known about the presence or role of yeasts in the diets of tephritid fruit flies in nature. Previous studies have identified bacteria but not detected yeasts in the gut of Queensland fruit fly, Bactrocera tryoni (Froggatt), one of Australia's most economically damaging insect pests of horticultural crops and of significant biosecurity concern domestically and internationally. Here we demonstrate that cultivable yeasts are commonly found in the gut of B. tryoni larvae from fruit hosts. Analysis of the ITS1, 5.8S rRNA gene, and ITS2 sequences of randomly selected isolates identified yeasts and yeast-like fungi of the genera Aureobasidium, Candida, Cryptococcus, Hanseniaspora, Pichia, and Starmerella. The prevalence of these yeasts in fruits suggests that larvae consume the yeasts as part of their diet. This work highlights that yeasts should be considered in future tephritid larval gut microbiota studies. Understanding tephritid-microbial symbiont interactions will lead to improvements in artificial diets and the quality of mass-reared tephritids for the sterile insect technique.
authors.affiliation: Biosecurity and Food Safety, NSW Department of Primary Industries, Elizabeth Macarthur Agricultural Institute, Narellan, New South Wales, Australia.|Graham Centre for Agricultural Innovation (an alliance between NSW Department of Primary Industries and Charles Sturt University), Elizabeth Macarthur Agricultural Institute, Private Mail Bag 4008, Narellan, New South Wales, Australia.
authors.forename: Ania T
authors.initials: AT
authors.lastname: Deutscher
authors.affiliation: Biosecurity and Food Safety, NSW Department of Primary Industries, Elizabeth Macarthur Agricultural Institute, Narellan, New South Wales, Australia.|Graham Centre for Agricultural Innovation (an alliance between NSW Department of Primary Industries and Charles Sturt University), Elizabeth Macarthur Agricultural Institute, Private Mail Bag 4008, Narellan, New South Wales, Australia.
authors.forename: Olivia L
authors.initials: OL
authors.lastname: Reynolds
authors.affiliation: Biosecurity and Food Safety, NSW Department of Primary Industries, Elizabeth Macarthur Agricultural Institute, Narellan, New South Wales, Australia.
authors.forename: Toni A
authors.initials: TA
authors.lastname: Chapman
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D021903:DNA, Ribosomal Spacer / Q000235:genetics; D000069196:Gastrointestinal Microbiome; D007814:Larva / Q000254:growth & development / Q000382:microbiology; D012331:RNA, Fungal / Q000235:genetics; D012340:RNA, Ribosomal, 5.8S / Q000235:genetics; D033621:Tephritidae / Q000254:growth & development / Q000382:microbiology*; D015003:Yeasts / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification*
chemical_list: D021903:DNA, Ribosomal Spacer; D012331:RNA, Fungal; D012340:RNA, Ribosomal, 5.8S
keywords: Queensland fruit fly; insect nutrition; insect rearing; microbial symbiont; sterile insect technique