Sex-specific interactions of microbial symbioses on cricket dietary selection

Environ Entomol. 2014 Aug;43(4):896-902. doi: 10.1603/EN13311. Epub 2014 Jun 9.

Abstract

The nutrients found in prey and nonprey foods, and relative digestibility of these foods, has a major influence on diet selection by omnivorous insects. Many insects have developed symbiotic relationships with gut bacteria to help with extracting nutrition from nonprey diets. Gryllus pennsylvanicus (Burmeister) (Orthoptera: Gryllidae) was assigned to one of two treatment groups, antibiotic-treated and nonantibiotic-treated, and consumption of seeds (nonprey) and eggs (prey) were measured. Male crickets administered antibiotics consumed more seeds and greater seed weight, while antibiotic-fed female crickets consumed fewer seeds and less seed weight, relative to the untreated male and female crickets, respectively. Both male and female antibiotic-treated crickets consumed similar weight of eggs as nonantibiotic-treated male and female crickets, respectively. These results provide evidence that gut symbionts influence diet selection of male and female G. pennsylvanicus differently. This sex-specific dietary selection may be because of the fact that male and female crickets have different nutritional requirements.

Publication types

  • Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Bacteria / drug effects*
  • Feeding Behavior
  • Female
  • Gastrointestinal Tract / microbiology
  • Gryllidae / microbiology*
  • Gryllidae / physiology*
  • Male
  • Microbiota* / drug effects
  • Seeds
  • Sex Characteristics
  • Symbiosis*