Career Research Scientist Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory Berkeley, California
Evolution generates diversity, and insects are the most diverse group of organisms on Earth. It is not surprising that insects can be found in all environments and feed on equally diverse diets. Several studies have demonstrated that the key to insect’s success is partly related to their association with microorganisms that are often essential for the insect’s survival, growth, and reproductive fitness. Insects are known to harbor their microbial symbionts within their gut, body cavities, or cells. Insects that feed on specialized or unique diets tend to possess highly developed gut-symbiotic systems where the symbionts cooperate to transform the consumed substrates, providing nutrients or detoxifying the host. Hence, these insect-microbe associations are crucial for maintaining the host’s fitness, and the disruption of the insect’s microbiome or the removal of key microbial groups may impact the host’s survival. In this presentation, I will share our advances in studying the microbiome of the most devastating insect pest of coffee, Hypothenemus hampei, and how we have identified key microbial populations that are potential targets for the disruption of the insect’s capacity to survive the toxic alkaloid caffeine. Understanding the biological and ecological mechanisms that have driven complex host-microbe interactions in insects may facilitate the development of strategies to improve how we manage pests and guide the design of new biotechnological processes for metabolite and energy production.
