Poster Display
Plant-Insect Ecosystems
Danilo Ferreira Borges dos Santos
PhD Candidate
The Pennsylvania State University
State College, Pennsylvania
Kaelonnah Darlich
The Pennsylvania State University
State College, Pennsylvania
Monica Kersch-Becker
Assistant Professor
The Pennsylvania State University
University Park, Pennsylvania
The gut bacterial communities of lepidopteran larvae can be influenced by changes in diet and insect host physiology. Recent studies have shown that the quality of diet can affect the establishment and growth of gut bacteria. However, the impact of phytochemicals on the bacterial composition of caterpillars remains underexplored. To address this gap, we investigated how different levels of jasmonate-mediated defenses in tomato plants (low, intermediate, and high resistance) affect the diversity and composition of the gut microbiome in Manduca sexta, as well as how these defenses influence caterpillar performance. We placed two 3rd instar caterpillars on each tomato treatment, after seven days we measured caterpillar performance in terms of weight, caterpillar length, and development time. Following their performance assessment, we extracted their gut to evaluate changes in the composition and diversity of their gut microbiota. We hypothesize that high-resistance plants will reduce gut bacterial diversity and alter the relative abundance of bacterial taxa. Additionally, we predict that caterpillar performance will be reduced when feeding on high-resistance plants compared to low-resistance plants. Larvae exposed to high-resistance plants will consume less leaf tissue and display lower consumption efficiency compared to those exposed to low-resistance plants. Our research contributes to the growing understanding of how a balanced and diverse gut microbiota can contribute significantly to the health and performance of lepidopterans by supporting nutrient acquisition, enhancing tolerance to environmental stressors, and providing protection against pathogens.