Scolytinae Raw sequence reads

Conifers possess challenging defenses that bark beetles must conquer to reproduce and thrive. Bark beetles are associated with diverse microbial communities that facilitate their ability to overcome these host nutritional and defensive barriers for survival and reproduction. Interestingly, microorganisms exhibit very short generation times and, thus, rapid evolutionary rates compared to multicellular organisms. Hence, they can evolve various metabolic pathways and adapt to diverse ecological niches. In severe interspecies competition, microorganisms could give bark beetles a substantial advantage over non-symbiotic competitors. In the present study, we surveyed the gut-associated bacterial assemblage from six bark beetles from the Scolytinae subfamily. Our data expanded the existing knowledge about core gut bacterial communities and their fundamental function in bark beetles from Scolytinae.