Global Warming Collapses Symbiotic Gut Bacteria

Heat-susceptible bacteria living symbiotically in the guts of insects when exposed to higher temperatures, both the bacteria and the insect are negatively impacted and can die, finds new study published in the journal mBio®

Many animals and other organisms harbor microorganisms inside their body. Some insects, such as the southern green stinkbug (Nezara viridula), depend on specific gut bacterium for normal growth and survival. In the new study, investigators demonstrated that when the southern green stinkbug was reared inside an incubator, in which temperature was controlled at 2.5 °C higher than outside, there was a significant reduction in the symbiont bacteria that sparked severe fitness defects in the insect (ie. retarded growth, reduced size). Global warming is predicted to raise the average temperature by 2.5 °C by 2100. At higher temperatures, no nymphs were able to reach the adult stage.