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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Feb 24, 2026

Preparing and Rearing Axenic Insects with Tissue Cultured Seedlings for Host-Gut Microbiota Interaction Studies of the Leaf Beetle
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Caterpillars lack a resident gut microbiome.

Tobin J Hammer1,2, Daniel H Janzen3, Winnie Hallwachs3

  • 1Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, CO 80309; tobin.hammer@colorado.edu.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
|August 24, 2017
PubMed
Summary

Caterpillars largely lack resident gut microbes, instead ingesting transient microbes from their food. This independence from symbionts may be common in animals, offering ecological benefits.

Keywords:
Lepidopteraherbivoryinsectsmutualismsymbiosis

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Area of Science:

  • Microbial ecology
  • Insect biology
  • Evolutionary biology

Background:

  • Microbial symbionts significantly impact host animals.
  • Larval Lepidoptera (caterpillars) are diverse and ecologically important herbivores.
  • Evidence for resident gut microbiomes in caterpillars is scarce.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To characterize the gut microbiomes of wild caterpillars.
  • To determine the functional importance of gut microbes for caterpillar development.
  • To investigate factors influencing microbial colonization in caterpillar guts.

Main Methods:

  • 16S rRNA gene sequencing and quantitative PCR were used to analyze caterpillar gut microbiomes.
  • Gut microbial communities of 124 caterpillar species were assessed.
  • Antibiotic treatment was applied to Manduca sexta caterpillars to assess microbial function.

Main Results:

  • Caterpillar guts harbored unusually low-density and variable microbial communities.
  • Microbial composition in caterpillar guts reflected ingested leaf-associated microbes, indicating transient colonization.
  • Antibiotic suppression of gut bacteria did not affect caterpillar weight gain, development, or survival.

Conclusions:

  • Caterpillars primarily host transient microbes rather than specific resident symbionts.
  • Caterpillar digestive physiology (high pH, simple gut, fast transit) may inhibit microbial colonization.
  • Host-encoded digestive and detoxification mechanisms likely make symbionts unnecessary for caterpillar herbivory, suggesting benefits of symbiont independence.