Aims: To determine the effect that the presence of some beetles have on the species of bacteria found in their flour.
Methods and results: Bacteria were isolated from flour that either did not contain beetles, contained Tribolium beetles in different environments, or contained either Stegobium paniceum or Lasioderma serricorne. These bacteria were tentatively identified by both the gas chromatography-fatty acid methyl esters (GC-FAME) method and partial sequencing of the 16S rRNA gene. All samples contained Bacillus species including the controls, but the non-Tribolium beetles and a Tribolium beetle line known to have low benzoquinones also contained Enterococcus and Enterobacter species. Additionally an unidentified bacteria isolate in the Enterobacteriaceae was also found in the L. serricorne sample. Our results also suggest incongruent identifications when using the GC-FAME method vs sequencing.
Conclusions: Certain species of bacteria can be introduced by the presence of insect pests, but the diversity of species is far less in stocks of Tribolium beetles.
Significance and impact of the study: Stored product pests can alter the bacterial community. Isolated species from this study show a strong genetic relationship to each other, suggesting an isolated evolving system. A unique bacteria was also isolated. GC and sequencing methods of identification are compared.