Abstract Insect microbiota may play a wide range of roles in host physiology. Among others, microbiota can be involved in diet processing or protection against pathogens, both of which are potentially important in bryophagous (moss-feeding) insects, which survive on extreme diets and live in the stable environment of moss clumps suitable for the growth of fungi and bacteria. We treated Cytilus sericeus (Forster, 1771) (Coleoptera: Byrrhidae) as a model organism with bactericides and fungicides to test the effect of bacterial and fungal removal on egg hatching and larval development. Furthermore, we supplied larvae with adult feces to determine whether feces is a source of beneficial microbiota or pathogens. Bactericides had a positive effect, but fungicides had a negative effect on beetle fitness, both of which manifested during egg hatching. The feces did not play a positive role. Our conclusions indicate the presence of beneficial fungal microbiota associated with eggs but not transmitted through feces. Based on preliminary cultivation and fungicide tests, Fusarium or Penicillium may be important for suppressing pathogens, but their exact role needs to be further studied.

中文翻译：

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去除细菌和真菌微生物群对苔藓甲虫生存和发育的影响

摘要 昆虫微生物群可能在宿主生理学中发挥广泛的作用。其中，微生物群可以参与饮食加工或抵御病原体，这两者在食苔（以苔藓为食）昆虫中都具有潜在的重要性，这些昆虫在极端饮食中生存并生活在适合真菌生长的苔藓丛的稳定环境中和细菌。我们将 Cytilus sericeus (Forster, 1771)（鞘翅目：Byrrhidae）作为具有杀菌剂和杀菌剂的模式生物进行处理，以测试去除细菌和真菌对卵孵化和幼虫发育的影响。此外，我们为幼虫提供成年粪便，以确定粪便是否是有益微生物群或病原体的来源。杀菌剂有积极作用，但杀菌剂对甲虫的适应性有负面影响，这两者都在卵孵化期间表现出来。粪便没有起到积极的作用。我们的结论表明，存在与鸡蛋相关但不通过粪便传播的有益真菌微生物群。根据初步栽培和杀菌剂试验，镰刀菌或青霉菌可能对抑制病原体很重要，但它们的确切作用需要进一步研究。