Molecular phylogenetic profiling of gut-associated bacteria in larvae and adults of flesh flies

Flesh flies of the genus Sarcophaga (Diptera: Sarcophagidae) are carrion-breeding, necrophagous insects important in medical and veterinary entomology as potential transmitters of pathogens to humans and animals. Our aim was to analyse the diversity of gut-associated bacteria in wild-caught larvae and adult flesh flies using culture-dependent and culture-independent methods. Analysis of 16S rRNA gene sequences from cultured isolates and clone libraries revealed bacteria affiliated to Proteobacteria, Actinobacteria, Firmicutes and Bacteroidetes in the guts of larval and adult flesh flies. Bacteria cultured from larval and adult flesh fly guts belonged to the genera Acinetobacter, Bacillus, Budvicia, Citrobacter, Dermacoccus, Enterococcus, Ignatzschineria, Lysinibacillus, Myroides, Pasteurella, Proteus, Providencia and Staphylococcus. Phylogenetic analysis showed clone sequences of the genera Aeromonas, Bacillus, Bradyrhizobium, Citrobacter, Clostridium, Corynebacterium, Ignatzschineria, Klebsiella, Pantoea, Propionibacterium, Proteus, Providencia, Serratia, Sporosarcina, Weissella and Wohlfahrtiimonas. Species of clinically significant genera such as Ignatzschineria and Wohlfahrtiimonas spp. were detected in both larvae and adult flesh flies. Sequence analysis of 16S rRNA gene libraries supported culture-based results and revealed the presence of additional bacterial taxa. This study determined the diversity of gut microbiota in flesh flies, which will bolster the ability to assess microbiological risk associated with the presence of these flies. The present data thereby establish a platform for a much larger study.