Microbial diversity in the Pale tussock moth, Calliteara pudibunda L., 1758 (Lepidoptera: Erebidae) larvae in the Eastern beech forest in Türkiye

Abstract

The Pale tussock moth, Calliteara pudibunda L., 1758 (Lepidoptera: Erebidae) is an important defoliator of deciduous forests, particularly Fagus orientalis Lipsky (Fagales: Fagaceae), with recurrent outbreaks in Türkiye. Despite its ecological and economic importance, its microbial communities remain poorly characterized. In this study, the microbiome of larvae collected during an outbreak in Bursa was analyzed by shotgun metatranscriptomic sequencing in Trabzon between 2023 and 2024. A total of 53.4 million paired-end reads were generated and taxonomically classified using Kraken2. The microbiome was dominated by Firmicutes and Proteobacteria, comprising more than 65% of bacterial reads, while Reoviridae and Baculoviridae were the most abundant viral families. Sequences related to Cypovirus 15 and Orgyia pseudotsugata multiple nucleopolyhedrovirus (OpMNPV) were detected. Electron microscopy further confirmed the presence of two baculoviruses, Calliteara pudibunda nucleopolyhedrovirus-Türkiye (CapuNPV-T1) and Calliteara pudibunda granulovirus-Türkiye (CapuGV-T). Archaeal sequences included extremophiles such as Sulfolobus acidocaldarius A (Sulfolobales: Sulfolobaceae) and methanogenic Methanosarcina spp. Kluyver & van Niel (Methanosarcinales: Methanosarcinaceae). These findings provide the first high-resolution insights into the microbiome and virome of C. pudibunda in Türkiye, highlighting microbial associations relevant to biological control strategies.

Keywords

• Baculovirus
• Cypovirus
• Calliteara pudibunda
• microbial diversity
• shotgun metatranscriptomics

Ethical Statement

Insect specimens used in this study were collected from natural populations during field surveys, and no protected species or organisms requiring special permission were involved. All procedures were conducted in accordance with general principles of scientific research ethics and animal welfare. The authors declare that there is no conflict of interest regarding this study. This manuscript has not been published previously and is not under consideration by another journal. All authors have read and approved the final version of the manuscript.

Türkiye’deki Doğu kayın ormanlarında Kızıl kuyruklu kayın tırtılı, Calliteara pudibunda L., 1758 (Lepidoptera: Erebidae) larvalarındaki mikrobiyal çeşitlilik

Abstract

Kızıl kuyruklu kayın tırtılı, Calliteara pudibunda L., 1758 (Lepidoptera: Erebidae), özellikle Doğu kayını, Fagus orientalis Lipsky (Fagales: Fagaceae) üzerinde beslenen ve Türkiye’de dönemsel salgınlar oluşturan önemli bir yaprak zararlısıdır. Ekolojik ve ekonomik önemine rağmen, bu türün mikrobiyal toplulukları sınırlı düzeyde bilinmektedir. Bu çalışmada, Bursa’da bir salgın sırasında toplanan larvaların mikrobiyomu, 2023-2024 yıllarında Trabzon’da shotgun metatranskriptomik dizileme ile analiz edilmiştir. Toplam 53,4 milyon paired-end okuma elde edilmiş ve Kraken2 ile taksonomik sınıflandırma yapılmıştır. Mikrobiyomun, bakteriyel okumaların %65’inden fazlasını oluşturan Firmicutes ve Proteobacteria tarafından domine edildiği belirlenmiştir. Viral toplulukta Reoviridae ve Baculoviridae en baskın ailelerdir. Cypovirus 15 ve Orgyia pseudotsugata multiple nucleopolyhedrovirus (OpMNPV) dizileri tespit edilmiştir. Elektron mikroskobu analizleri, Calliteara pudibunda nucleopolyhedrovirus-Türkiye (CapuNPV-T1) ve Calliteara pudibunda granulovirus-Türkiye (CapuGV-T) varlığını doğrulamıştır. Arkea dizileri arasında Sulfolobus acidocaldarius A (Sulfolobales: Sulfolobaceae) ve metanojenik Methanosarcina spp. Kluyver & van Niel (Methanosarcinales: Methanosarcinaceae) yer almıştır. Bu bulgular, Türkiye’de C. pudibunda mikrobiyom ve viromuna ilişkin ilk yüksek çözünürlüklü verileri sunmakta ve biyolojik mücadele stratejileri açısından önem taşıyan mikrobiyal ilişkileri ortaya koymaktadır.

Keywords

• Bakülovirüs
• Cypovirus
• Calliteara pudibunda
• mikrobiyal çeşitlilik
• shotgun metatranskriptomik

Ethical Statement

Bu çalışmada kullanılan böcek örnekleri saha çalışmaları sırasında doğal popülasyonlardan toplanmış olup, araştırma kapsamında herhangi bir koruma altındaki tür veya özel izin gerektiren organizma kullanılmamıştır. Çalışma sırasında hayvan refahı ve bilimsel araştırma etiği ilkelerine uyulmuştur. Yazarlar bu çalışma ile ilgili herhangi bir çıkar çatışması bulunmadığını beyan eder. Bu makale daha önce yayımlanmamış olup başka bir dergide değerlendirme sürecinde değildir. Tüm yazarlar makalenin son halini okumuş ve yayımlanmasını onaylamıştır.

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