A First Look at Possible Diet-Induced Variations in the Fecal Microbiota of the Agricultural Pest Diaprepes abbreviatus

Diaprepes abbreviatus (Coleoptera: Curculionidae), commonly known as the root weevil, is a pest feeding on more than 300 species of plants in tropical areas of the Caribbean and the United States. The principal control method is chemical pesticides, which negatively impact the environment and human health. Because it has been shown that the development and growth of many insects may be influenced by the microbiome, safer control methods are being tested by targeting digestive processes. However, data on the gut and fecal microbiota of D. abbreviatus remain scarce. We characterized the fecal microbial profiles of D. abbreviatus fed only one of three types of leaves, namely lemon, guava, or passion fruit. Amplification, sequencing and analysis of sequences of the variable region 4 (V4) region of the 16S rRNA gene was performed from collected feces. Results indicated that Novosphingobium and Pseudomonas were the most abundant bacterial genera in the feces of insects fed guava and lemon diets, respectively. On the other hand, Lactococcus, Staphylococcus, and Corynebacterium were the most abundant bacterial genera in the feces of insects fed the passion fruit leaves. The data suggest differences in bacterial relative abundance and diversity that could be based D. abbreviatus diet. These data can also aid to understand the digestion process of polyphagous insects, and eventually develop biocontrol tools.