Diversity of fall armyworm, Spodoptera frugiperda and their gut bacterial community in Kenya

Publication Type

Journal Article

Journal Name

PeerJ

Name of Author

• Joseph Gichuhi, International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology Nairobi
• Subramanian Sevgan, International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology Nairobi
• Fathiya Khamis, International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology Nairobi
• Johnnie Van Den Berg, North-West University
• Hannalene Du Plessis, North-West University
• Sunday Ekesi, International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology Nairobi
• Jeremy K. Herren, International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology Nairobi

Publication Date

1-1-2020

Abstract

Background: The invasive fall armyworm, Spodoptera frugiperda (J.E. Smith) is a polyphagous pest that causes widespread damage particularly to maize and sorghum in Africa. The microbiome associated with S. frugiperda could play a role in the insects' success and adaptability. However, bacterial communities in S. frugiperda remain poorly studied. Methods: We investigated the composition, abundance and diversity of microbiomes associated with larval and adult specimens of S. frugiperda collected from four maize growing regions in Kenya through high throughput sequencing of the bacterial 16S rRNA gene. The population structure of S. frugiperda in Kenya was assessed through amplification of the mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase subunit I gene. Results: We identified Proteobacteria and Firmicutes as the most dominant bacterial phyla and lesser proportions of Bacteroidetes and Actinobacteria. We also observed differences in bacterial microbiome diversity between larvae and adults that are a likely indication that some prominent larval bacterial groups are lost during metamorphosis. However, several bacterial groups were found in both adults and larvae suggesting that they are transmitted across developmental stages. Reads corresponding to several known entomopathogenic bacterial clades as well as the fungal entomopathogen, Metarhizium rileyi, were observed. Mitochondrial DNA haplotyping of the S. frugiperda population in Kenya indicated the presence of both "Rice" and "Corn" strains, with a higher prevalence of the "Rice" strain.

Keywords

Corn strain, Fall armyworm, Gut bacteria, MtCOI haplotype, Rice strain, Spodoptera frugiperda

Recommended Citation

Gichuhi, J., Sevgan, S., Khamis, F., Van Den Berg, J., Du Plessis, H., Ekesi, S., & Herren, J. (2020). Diversity of fall armyworm, Spodoptera frugiperda and their gut bacterial community in Kenya. PeerJ, 2020 (3) https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.8701

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.