DOI: 10.5061/dryad.zkh18935n
title: Angiosperm to Gymnosperm host-plant switch entails shifts in microbiota of the Welwitschia bug, Probergrothius angolensis (Distant, 1902)

description: Adaptation of herbivorous insects to new host plants is key to their
 evolutionary success in diverse environments. Many insects are associated
 with mutualistic gut bacteria that contribute to the host’s nutrition and
 can thereby facilitate dietary switching in polyphagous insects. However,
 how gut microbial communities differ between populations of the same
 species that feed on different host plants remains poorly understood. Most
 species of Pyrrhocoridae (Hemiptera: Heteroptera) are specialist
 seed-feeders on plants in the family Malvaceae, however populations of one
 species, Probergrothius angolensis, has switched to the very distantly
 related Welwitschia mirabilis plant in the Namib Desert. We first compared
 development and survival of laboratory populations of Pr. angolensis with
 two other pyrrhocorids on seeds of Welwitschia and found only Pr.
 angolensis capable of successfully completing its development. We then
 collected Pr. angolensis in Namibia from Malvaceae and Welwitschia host
 plants, respectively, to assess their bacterial and fungal community
 profiles using high-throughput amplicon sequencing. Comparison with
 long-term lab reared insects indicated stable associations of Pr.
 angolensis with core bacteria (Commensalibacter, Enterococcus, Bartonella,
 and Klebsiella), but not fungi or yeasts. Phylogenetic analyses of core
 bacteria revealed relationships to other insect-associated bacteria, but
 also found new taxa indicating potential host-specialized nutritional
 roles. Importantly, the microbial community profiles of bugs feeding on
 Welwitschia vs. Malvaceae revealed stark and consistent differences in the
 relative abundance of core bacterial taxa that correlate with the
 host-plant switch; a result we were able to recreate through feeding
 experiments. Thus, a dynamic gut microbiota may provide a means for insect
 adaptation to new host plants in new environments when food plants are
 extremely divergent.
description: Quantitative PCR (qPCR) was performed on a RotorGene
 Q seed_qPCR.xlsx is qPCR performed on the insect seed
 diet qPCR_Pangolensis_DifferentDiets.xlsx is the qPCR
 performed on insects fed the different seed diets. 
 Probergrothius angolensis gene alignments (MUSCLE)
 (untrimmed/unmasked) .phy files
 Genes: (Genbank MN542943 to MN543046) 
 SCR Mitochondrial 16S
 ITS2 ITS1
 dfd2 CytB
 CO1 CO2
 abdA 18S 
 Illumina MiSeq V3 Chemistry (Primers
 515F-Y and 926R) 
 16S_AmpliconSequenceVariants_LabColony.xlsx is the ASV table for
 the analysis of the lab colony of P. angolensis.
 Qiime2_Analysis_Pipeline.txt is the analysis pipeline for the 62
 P. angolensis samples from Namibia.
 negC-V4V5_S67.report.pdf is the report for the MiSeq negative
 control. 16S_AmpliconSequenceVariants_Namibia.xlsx is
 the ASV table for the analysis of the P. angolensis collected in
 Namibia. Firebug development
 assay Firebug_development_on_different_seeds.xlsx is
 the table containing survival, development, and fresh weight info for bugs
 fed the different seed diets.