Gut Bacteria Mix in Western Flower Thrips: How Diet Makes the Difference

Western flower thrips (WFT) are tiny pests that love to chomp on various plants, including roses and kidney beans. Scientists wanted to know how the food they eat affects the bacteria living in their guts. They collected adult WFT guts and analyzed the DNA of these gut bacteria. Turns out, the thrips munching on rose flowers had the most diverse bunch of gut bacteria. Those feasting on kidney bean pods had the most bacteria overall, but the bean leaf eaters had something different going on. In all three cases, Proteobacteria was the dominant type of bacteria, with Stenotrophomonas leading the pack in the pod and leaf eaters, and Rosenbergiella in the flower lovers. These gut bacteria mainly helped with breaking down carbohydrates and amino acids. So, what the thrips ate really changed the makeup and tasks of their gut bacteria. This gives us clues about how these pests adapt to different foods, and how the gut bacteria might help them do that.