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Title: Gut microbiota mediate caffeine detoxification in the primary insect pest of coffee

Journal Article · · Nature Communications
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1038/ncomms8618· OSTI ID:1256035
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  1. Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)
  2. United States Department of Agriculture, Beltsville, MD (United States)
  3. International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT), Texcoco (Mexico)
  4. El Colegio de la Frontera Sur (ECOSUR), Chiapas (Mexico)

Here we report that the coffee berry borer (Hypothenemus hampei) is the most devastating insect pest of coffee worldwide with its infestations decreasing crop yield by up to 80%. Caffeine is an alkaloid that can be toxic to insects and is hypothesized to act as a defence mechanism to inhibit herbivory. Furthermore, we show that caffeine is degraded in the gut of H. hampei, and that experimental inactivation of the gut microbiota eliminates this activity. We also demonstrate that gut microbiota in H. hampei specimens from seven major coffee-producing countries and laboratory-reared colonies share a core of microorganisms. Globally ubiquitous members of the gut microbiota, including prominent Pseudomonas species, subsist on caffeine as a sole source of carbon and nitrogen. In conclusion, pseudomonas caffeine demethylase genes are expressed in vivo in the gut of H. hampei, and re-inoculation of antibiotic-treated insects with an isolated Pseudomonas strain reinstates caffeine-degradation ability confirming their key role.

Research Organization:
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE
Grant/Contract Number:
AC02-05CH11231; AC02-05CH1121231
OSTI ID:
1256035
Journal Information:
Nature Communications, Vol. 6; ISSN 2041-1723
Publisher:
Nature Publishing GroupCopyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Citation Metrics:
Cited by: 267 works
Citation information provided by
Web of Science

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Gut bacteria of the cowpea beetle mediate its resistance to dichlorvos and susceptibility to Lippia adoensis essential oil journal April 2019
Plant secondary metabolites in nectar: impacts on pollinators and ecological functions journal May 2016
Bacterial communities of Aphis gossypii and Myzus persicae (Hemiptera: Aphididae) from pepper crops (Capsicum sp.) journal April 2019
Cultivation and Genome Sequencing of Bacteria Isolated From the Coffee Berry Borer (Hypothenemus hampei), With Emphasis on the Role of Caffeine Degradation journal April 2021
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Midgut Transcriptome of the Cockroach Periplaneta americana and Its Microbiota: Digestion, Detoxification and Oxidative Stress Response journal May 2016
Disrupting butterfly caterpillar microbiomes does not impact their survival and development journal December 2019
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Wolbachia Affects Reproduction and Population Dynamics of the Coffee Berry Borer (Hypothenemus hampei): Implications for Biological Control journal January 2017
Whole metagenome sequencing reveals links between mosquito microbiota and insecticide resistance in malaria vectors journal February 2018
Detoxifying symbiosis: microbe-mediated detoxification of phytotoxins and pesticides in insects journal January 2018
Endozoicomonas genomes reveal functional adaptation and plasticity in bacterial strains symbiotically associated with diverse marine hosts journal January 2017
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