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Establishment and Maintenance of Gnotobiotic American Cockroaches Periplaneta americana

Establishment and Maintenance of Gnotobiotic American Cockroaches Periplaneta americana

Published on: May 28, 2021

Comparative Analysis of Gut Eukaryotic Communities in Three Laboratory-Reared Cockroach Species Using Metabarcoding.

Dongjun Kang¹, Xavier Chavarria¹, Jun Ho Choi¹

¹Department of Tropical Medicine, Institute of Tropical Medicine, and Arthropods of Medical Importance Resource Bank, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea.

The Journal of Eukaryotic Microbiology

|April 29, 2026

Summary

Laboratory cockroaches host diverse eukaryotic microbes, including nematodes, ciliates, and fungi. Eukaryotic communities vary by cockroach species, highlighting host specificity in these important research models.

Keywords:

Blatticola Leidynema 18S rRNA cockroach fungus metabarcoding parasite

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Area of Science:

Microbiology
Parasitology
Entomology

Background:

Cockroaches are recognized reservoirs for bacterial communities, but their eukaryotic microbial inhabitants are less understood.
Limited comprehensive analyses exist for the eukaryotic communities within laboratory-reared cockroaches.

Purpose of the Study:

To characterize the eukaryotic microbial communities in three long-term laboratory-reared cockroach species.
To investigate the influence of host identity on the composition of these eukaryotic communities.

Main Methods:

Metabarcoding of the 18S rRNA V9 region was performed on Blattella germanica, Periplaneta fuliginosa, and Periplaneta japonica.
The iSeq 100 platform was utilized for high-throughput sequencing.

Main Results:

Distinct eukaryotic taxa were identified across the three cockroach species.
Nematodes (Blatticola blattae, Leidynema appendiculata), ciliates (Nyctotherus), amoebae (Entamoeba sp.), and fungi (Nephridiophaga) were detected.
Blattella germanica showed a higher prevalence of the fungus Nephridiophaga compared to the other species.

Conclusions:

Laboratory-reared cockroaches harbor diverse commensal and parasitic eukaryotic communities that are specific to the host species.
The findings underscore the importance of host specificity in shaping the eukaryotic microbiome of cockroach models.
While most detected eukaryotes pose minimal clinical risk, their presence illustrates the complexity of the cockroach eukaryome.