A study reveals that bacteria associated with a carrion-eating beetle help preserve carcasses, slowing carcass decomposition and aiding the development of beetle larvae. The burying beetle Nicrophorus vespilloides, which breeds on small carcasses, buries the carcass, covers it in secretions, and carves out cavities for the growth of beetle larvae. Shantanu Shukla, Heiko Vogel, and colleagues investigated how the beetles' microbial flora facilitate slow decomposition of carcasses. In lab assays, the authors provided a mouse carcass to a pair of breeding beetles and noted that the carcass tended by the beetles resisted degradation, with low concentrations of volatile compounds and enzymes associated with decomposition; in contrast, untended carcasses putrefied. The authors used ribosomal RNA sequencing to determine the makeup of the bacterial and fungal communities on each type of carcass. The tended carcasses supported growth of the beetle's gut flora, including a nonpathogenic yeast species, which outcompeted other microbes associated with decomposition. Removing the biofilm of beetle-associated microbes from the carcass resulted in small larvae, suggesting that the beetles' support of bacterial species in carcasses is an adaptive strategy. According to the authors, microbes on carcasses tended by beetles may support larval development, in addition to providing a nutrient-rich nursery.
Article #18-12808: "Microbiome-assisted carrion preservation aids larval development in a burying beetle," by Shantanu P. Shukla, et al.
MEDIA CONTACT: Shantanu P. Shukla, Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology, Jena, GERMANY; tel: +49 (0)3641 57 1569; email: sshukla@ice.mpg.de
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Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences