Gut micriobiota are involved in adaptation of the invasive tephritid species Bactrocera dorsalis to temperature and diet stressors
Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: Insects have remarkable abilities to colonize diverse ecological niches and exploit diets of variable quality, capacities that are increasingly attributed to functional contributions from their gut microbiota. Insect gut microbiota has been shown to be environmentally responsive and has emerged as a vital factor in the growth, development, physiology, immunity, and evolution of host insects. In this study, we combined life-history assays, metabolic measurements, and high-throughput gut microbiome profiling to investigate how environmental stressors shape the fitness and microbial associations of the invasive fruit fly B. dorsalis (Hendel) (Diptera: Tephritidae). Specifically, we examined the effects of suboptimal temperatures (heat and cold stress) and nutritionally unbalanced diets on gut microbial composition, energetic reserves, and predicted metabolic functions in female flies. Results reveal several new insights into microbiome-involved adaptation. First, B. dorsalis flies is able to maintain survival across thermal and dietary stressors by deploying distinct fitness strategies, including the accumulation of energetic reserves (protein, lipid, and carbohydrate) under both low and high temperatures, but not under protein unbalanced diets. Secondly, microbial communities change in response to temperature and diet. Predicted metabolic functions showed that arginine metabolic pathways were significantly enriched under cold stress, while nitrogen related pathways were enriched under protein free diets, suggesting targeted microbial contributions to host metabolic compensation. This study demonstrates that the gut microbiome plays an active and condition-specific role in helping B. dorsalis to withstand nutritional and thermal constraints, offering a mechanistic explanation for its ecological flexibility. This work highlights microbiome-involved adaptation as a key factor facilitating insect invasions and resilience under climate change.
Source: Entomologia Generalis
Language: English
Subfield: Insect Science
Domain: Life Sciences
SDG: Zero hunger
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W7154968460