Succession of the gut microbiota in the cockroach Blattella germanica Authors Purificación Carrasco Institute of Biodiversity and Evolutionary Biology, University of Valencia, Valencia. Ana Elena Pérez-Cobas Genomics and Health Area, Foundation for the Health and Biomedical of the Community of Valencia, Valencia. Claudia van de Pol Institute of Biodiversity and Evolutionary Biology, University of Valencia, Valencia. Joaquín Baixeras Institute of Biodiversity and Evolutionary Biology, University of Valencia, Valencia. Andrés Moya Institute of Biodiversity and Evolutionary Biology, University of Valencia, Valencia, Spain; Genomics and Health Area, Foundation for the Health and Biomedical of the Community of Valencia, Valencia, Spain Amparo Latorre Institut Cavanilles de Biodiversitat i Biologia Evolutiva Universitat de València, València Keywords: Blattella germanica, cockroach gut microbiota, 16S rRNA gene, endosymbionts, ecological succession Abstract The cockroach gut harbors a wide variety of microorganisms that, among other functions, collaborate in digestion and act as a barrier against pathogen colonization. Blattabacterium, a primary endosymbiont, lives in the fat body inside bacteriocytes and plays an important role in nitrogen recycling. Little is known about the mode of acquisition of gut bacteria or their ecological succession throughout the insect life cycle. Here we report on the bacterial taxa isolated from different developmental instars of the cockroach Blattella germanica. The bacterial load in the gut increased two orders of magnitude from the first to the second nymphal stage, coinciding with the incorporation of the majority of bacterial taxa, but remained similar thereafter. Pyrosequencing of the hypervariable regions V1–V3 of the 16S rRNA genes showed that the microbial composition differed significantly between adults and nymphs. Specifically, a succession was observed in which Fusobacterium accumulated with aging, while Bacteroides decreased. Blattabacterium was the only symbiont found in the ootheca, which makes the vertical transmission of gut bacteria an unlikely mode of acquisition. Scanning electron microscopy disclosed a rich bacterial biofilm in third instar nymphs, while filamentous structures were found exclusively in adults. [Int Microbiol 2014; 17(2):99-109]Keywords: Blattella germanica · cockroach gut microbiota · 16S rRNA gene · endosymbionts · ecological succession Downloads PDF Issue Vol. 17 No. 2 (2014) Section Research Articles License Submission of a manuscript to International Microbiology implies: that the work described has not been published before, including publication in the World Wide Web (except in the form of an Abstract or as part of a published lecture, review, or thesis); that it is not under consideration for publication elsewhere; that all the coauthors have agreed to its publication. The corresponding author signs for and accepts responsability for releasing this material and will act on behalf of any and all coauthors regarding the editorial review and publication process.If an article is accepted for publication in International Microbiology, the authors (or other copyright holder) must transfer to the journal the right–not exclusive–to reproduce and distribute the article including reprints, translations, photographic reproductions, microform, electronic form (offline, online) or any other reproductions of similar nature. Nevertheless, all article in International Microbiology will be available on the Internet to any reader at no cost. The journal allows users to freely download, copy, print, distribute, search, and link to the full text of any article, provided the authorship and source of the published article is cited. The copyright owner's consent does not include copying for new works, or resale. In these cases, the specific written permission of International Microbiology must first be obtained.Authors are requested to create a link to the published article on the journal's website. The link must be accompanied by the following text: "The original publication is available on LINK at <http://www.im.microbios.org>. Please use the appropiate URL for the article in LINK. Articles disseminated via LINK are indexed, abstracted, and referenced by many abstracting and information services, bibliographic networks, subscription agencies, library networks, and consortia.
