The role of gut microbiota in the regulation of standard metabolic rate in female Periplaneta americana

Insect gut microbiota contribute significantly to host nutritional ecology. Disrupting insect gut microbial assemblages impacts nutrient provisioning functions, and can potentially affect host standard metabolic rate (SMR), a measure of host energy balance. In this study, we evaluated the effect of...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:PeerJ (San Francisco, CA) CA), 2018-05, Vol.6, p.e4717-e4717, Article e4717
Main Authors: Ayayee, Paul A, Ondrejech, Andrew, Keeney, George, Muñoz-Garcia, Agustí
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
American cockroach
Analysis
Antibiotic
Ecology
Entomology
Food and nutrition
Gut microbial assemblage
Metabolism
Microbiology
Microbiota (Symbiotic organisms)
Nutritional stress
Periplaneta americana
Physiological aspects
Standard metabolic rate
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Summary:Insect gut microbiota contribute significantly to host nutritional ecology. Disrupting insect gut microbial assemblages impacts nutrient provisioning functions, and can potentially affect host standard metabolic rate (SMR), a measure of host energy balance. In this study, we evaluated the effect of disrupting gut microbial assemblages on the SMR of female cockroaches fed dog food (DF, high protein/carbohydrate (p/c) ratio), and cellulose-amended dog food (CADF, 30% dog food, 70% cellulose, low p/c ratio) diets, supplemented with none, low, or high antibiotic doses. Bacterial loads decreased significantly between diet types ( = 0.04) and across antibiotic doses ( = 0.04). There was a significant diet type x antibiotic dose interaction on SMR of females on both diets ( = 0.05) by the end of the seven-day experimental period. In CADF-fed females, SMR decreased linearly with decreasing bacterial load. However, SMR of DF-fed females on the low dose was significantly higher than those in the control and high dose groups. This is interpreted as a diet-dependent response by low dose DF-fed females to the loss of nutritional services provided by gut bacteria. Severe reductions in bacterial load at high doses reduced SMR of females on both diet types. This study provides insights into the potential role of gut bacteria as modulators of host energy expenditure under varying dietary conditions.
ISSN:2167-8359
2167-8359
DOI:10.7717/peerj.4717