Impacts of phase, environment, and species on the microbiota in Schistocerca locusts from the Americas

Locusts are a polyphyletic group of short-horned grasshoppers that exhibit density-dependent polyphenism. The mechanisms that drive this shift varies based on species but appears to be multifaceted including sensory, environmental, and physiological inputs. Schistocerca is a genus of Orthopterans with an ancestral lineage in the old world and dozens of new world species only two of which demonstrate the locust phenotype. From this genus, desert locust, S. gregaria, is the best characterized. It has been a model for locust physiology, behavior, ecology and, most recently, gut microbiota. To date, understanding of the influence microbes have on locust biology has been limited to this species and predominantly investigated in lab-reared animals. Together with the Behavioral Plasticity Research Institute, we aim to better understand how phenotypic plasticity is controlled using Schistocerca locusts as a model. Here we’ll explore the gut bacteria associated in both solitary and gregarious phases, from both lab-reared and natural habitats, and in both species of American Schistocerca locusts. This project couples 16S amplicon sequencing with other molecular and bioassay data to begin filling in the gaps for these globally important taxa.