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Published on: October 8, 2021
Interplay between gut symbionts and behavioral variation in social insects
Joanito Liberti1, Philipp Engel2, Amélie Cabirol2
1Department of Fundamental Microbiology, University of Lausanne, Switzerland; Department of Ecology and Evolution, University of Lausanne, Switzerland.
Abstract:
Social insects exhibit a high degree of intraspecific behavioral variation. Moreover, they often harbor specialized microbial communities in their gut. Recent studies suggest that these two characteristics of social insects are interlinked: insect behavioral phenotypes affect their gut microbiota composition, partly through exposure to different environments and diet, and in return, the gut microbiota has been shown to influence insect behavior. Here, we discuss the bidirectional relationship existing between intraspecific variation in gut microbiota composition and behavioral phenotypes in social insects.
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