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1 August 2014 Gut Microbes Contribute to Nitrogen Provisioning in a Wood-Feeding Cerambycid
Paul Ayayee, Cristina Rosa, James Gregory Ferry, Gary Felton, Mike Saunders, Kelli Hoover
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Abstract

Xylophagous insects often thrive on nutritionally suboptimal diets through symbiotic associations with microbes that supplement their nutritional requirements, particularly nitrogen. The wood-feeding cerambycid Anoplophora glabripennis (Motschulsky) feeds on living, healthy host trees and harbors a diverse gut microbial community. We investigated gut microbial contributions to larval nitrogen requirements through nitrogen fixing and recycling (urea hydrolysis) processes, using a combination of molecular, biochemical, and stable isotope approaches. Genes and transcripts of conserved regions of the urease operon (ureC) and nitrogen fixing (nif) regulon (nifH) were detected in A. glabripennis eggs and larvae from naturally infested logs and from larvae reared on artificial diet. Significant nitrogen fixation and recycling were documented in larvae using 15N2 gas and 15N-urea, respectively. Subsequent 15N-routing of incorporated recycled nitrogen into larval essential and nonessential amino acids was shown for 15N-urea diet-fed larvae. Results from this study show significant gut microbial contributions to this insect's metabolic nitrogen utilization through nitrogenous waste product recycling and nitrogen fixation.

© 2014 Entomological Society of America
Paul Ayayee, Cristina Rosa, James Gregory Ferry, Gary Felton, Mike Saunders, and Kelli Hoover "Gut Microbes Contribute to Nitrogen Provisioning in a Wood-Feeding Cerambycid," Environmental Entomology 43(4), 903-912, (1 August 2014). https://doi.org/10.1603/EN14045
Received: 23 February 2014; Accepted: 1 May 2014; Published: 1 August 2014
JOURNAL ARTICLE
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KEYWORDS
amino acid
nitrogen fixation
stable isotope
urea hydrolysis
xylophagy
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