Abstract
Insect herbivores have ubiquitous associations with microorganisms that have major effects on how host insects may interact in their environment. Recently, increased attention has been given to how insect gut microbiomes mediate interactions with plants. In this paper, I discuss the ecology and physiology of gut bacteria associated with insect herbivores and how they may shape interactions between insects and their various host plants. I first establish how microbial associations vary between insects with different feeding styles, and how the insect host physiology and ecology can shape stable or transient relationships with gut bacteria. Then, I describe how these relationships factor in with plant nutrition and plant defenses. Within this framework, I suggest that many of the interactions between plants, insects, and the gut microbiome are context-dependent and shaped by the type of defense and the isolates present in the environment. Relationships between insects and plants are not pairwise, but instead highly multipartite, and the interweaving of complex microbial interactions is needed to fully explore the context-dependent aspects of the gut microbiome in many of these systems. I conclude the review by suggesting studies that would help reduce the unsureness of microbial interactions with less-defined herbivore systems and identify how each could provide a path to more robust roles and traits.
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Acknowledgements
I appreciate the discussions with Alissa Hanshew, Swayamjit Ray, Ikkei Shikano, Asher Jones, Kelli Hoover, and Gary Felton that helped form the core ideas in this paper. I thank Nick Sloff for the illustration depicted in Fig. 1. I would also like to thank the anonymous reviewers and Kerry Mauck for guidance and suggestions in earlier draft iterations. Funding was provided by a United States Department of Agriculture NIFA Postdoctoral Fellowship (2018-67012-27979).
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Mason, C.J. Complex Relationships at the Intersection of Insect Gut Microbiomes and Plant Defenses. J Chem Ecol 46, 793–807 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10886-020-01187-1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10886-020-01187-1