midgut microbial community of Spodoptera litura

Insect intestinal environments are symbiotic systems containing various microorganisms, which affects host physiology and evolution by participating in metabolic processes related to the anabolism of sterols, sugars, amino acids, digestive enzymes, and detoxifying enzymes. Symbiotic microbial communities also play important protective roles in the host, detoxifying harmful foreign substances and/or preventing the invasion of predators, parasites, and pathogens. In this study, microbiomics and metabolomic were used to explore the effects of Metarhizium flavoviride exposure on the midgut microbial community and metabolites of Spodoptera litura. The results shows exposure to the fungal pathogen altered bacterial abundance and diversity in host midgut, the dominant bacterial species in the S. litura midgut also shifted after treatment; differentially metabolites were identified between the treatment and control groups after M. flavoviride treatment and significantly enriched in KEGG pathways. It provides the invaluable data for improving pest control using entomopathogenic fungi.