The host phylogeny and climate determine the gut bacteria of global insects
Shiqing Nie1, Yong-Jun Liu2, Yuan Ge1
1State Key Laboratory for Ecological Security of Regions and Cities, Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100085, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, 100049 Beijing, China.
Abstract:
Insects play an indispensable role in ecosystems; however, in recent years, the rapid decline in global insect diversity and abundance has posed a significant threat to our survival environment. Insect gut microbes play a crucial role in the survival of insects. Understanding their global traits will be advantageous for insect protection, thus safeguarding our environment. In this study, 11,814 samples of 334 insect species from global public databases were analyzed. We found that host phylogeny and climate were decisive factors in shaping the structure of insect gut bacteria. We also identified 168 core gut bacteria of insects, more than half of which were correlated with temperatures during the coldest and wettest periods or temperature fluctuations. Moreover, machine learning predictions showed that future climate warming will lead to a decrease in alpha diversity and core bacteria of insects. Together, our study indicated that insect gut bacteria were closely related to the host, and climate warming may harm the gut bacteria, leading to a decline in insect species and populations worldwide.
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