IDENTIFICATION OF MICROBIAL COMMUNITY COLONIZING THE GUT OF DYSDERCUS CINGULATUS FABRICIUS (HEMIPTERA: PYRRHOCORIDAE)

Abstract

Red cotton stainer Dysdercus cingulatus sucks the sap of cotton plant and hence considered as one of the serious pests of cotton across the globe. Gut microbial community of this pest was studied using 16srRNA variable regions (V3 & V4) using Illumina MiSeq technology. Totally 11, 0,797 reads were obtained which were processed using QIIME pipeline. This study resulted in the identification of gut microbiota of D. cingulatus categorized into 34 different phyla, 88 classes, 132 classes, 206 families and 336 genera. Phylum level taxonomic classification identifies bacteria predominantly from Proteobacteria (46.7%), Actinobacteria (25.7%) and Firmicutes (18%). Species from the genus Coriobacterium, Bifidobacterium, Corynebacterium, Klebsiella & Pseudomonas are most abundant in the gut of D. cingulatus. Insights into the gut can help us to understand the role of microorganism which dismantles the plant.