Duplouy, A and Hornett, EA 
ORCID: 0000-0002-7747-0583
(2018)
Uncovering the hidden players in Lepidoptera biology: The heritable microbial endosymbionts
Peerj, 2018 (5).
e4629-.
ISSN 2167-8359, 2167-8359
Abstract
The Lepidoptera is one of themost widespread and recognisable insect orders. Due to their remarkable diversity, economic and ecological importance, moths and butterflies have been studied extensively over the last 200 years. More recently, the relationship between Lepidoptera and their heritable microbial endosymbionts has received increasing attention. Heritable endosymbionts reside within the host's body and are often, but not exclusively, inherited through the female line. Advancements in molecular genetics have revealed that host-associated microbes are both extremely prevalent among arthropods and highly diverse. Furthermore, heritable endosymbionts have been repeatedly demonstrated to play an integral role in many aspects of host biology, particularly host reproduction. Here, we review the major findings of research of heritable microbial endosymbionts of butterflies and moths. We promote the Lepidoptera as important models in the study of reproductive manipulations employed by heritable endosymbionts, with the mechanisms underlying male-killing and feminisation currently being elucidated in moths and butterflies. We also reveal that the vast majority of research undertaken of Lepidopteran endosymbionts concerns Wolbachia. While this highly prevalent bacterium is undoubtedly important, studies should move towards investigating the presence of other, and interacting endosymbionts, and we discuss the merits of examining the microbiome of Lepidoptera to this end. We finally consider the importance of understanding the influence of endosymbionts under global environmental change and when planning conservation management of endangered Lepidoptera species.
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | Butterfly, Climate change, Conservation, Microbes, Moth, Symbiosis, Wolbachia |
| Depositing User: | Symplectic Admin |
| Date Deposited: | 28 Nov 2019 16:58 |
| Last Modified: | 24 Jan 2026 01:50 |
| DOI: | 10.7717/peerj.4629 |
| Open Access URL: | https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.4629 |
| Related Websites: | |
| URI: | https://livrepository.liverpool.ac.uk/id/eprint/3063894 |
| Disclaimer: | The University of Liverpool is not responsible for content contained on other websites from links within repository metadata. Please contact us if you notice anything that appears incorrect or inappropriate. |
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