Insight into the Microbiota of Orthopteran in Relation to Gut Compartmentalisation

Abstract

This review first provides an overview of the functional diversity of Orthoptera-associated microbiota and the services they provide to their hosts. However, data are widely scattered across the different families studied, making it difficult to establish whether a core microbiota is present. The abundance of some genera (Pantoea, Enterococcus, Enterobacter, Acinetobacter) is associated with the degradation of cellulose compounds, although their clear contribution remains to be determined. In addition, P. agglomerans may play a role in the production of aggregation pheromones in the desert locust. In terms of gut compartmentalisation, the diversity of the bacterial community in the foregut appears to be highly variable between individuals and species, whereas it is more uniform in other parts of the gut. Metabolic pathways of the gut microbiota revealed differences in amino acid metabolism between the midgut and hindgut. Bacteria in the midgut are associated with amino acid synthesis and anaerobic metabolism, whereas pathways in the hindgut may be involved in amino acid catabolism and ace-tyl-CoA-mediated processes. Further research is needed to better understand these different components of the bacterial community in digestive processes, and to identify bacterial species of particular interest in explaining species' lifestyles or for bioconversion.

Keywords: Caelifera; Ensifera; Orthoptera; ecological symbioses; endosymbionts; gut compartmentalization; gut microbiota role.

Figure 1

Increase in the number of publications corresponding to the keywords ‘gut and microbiome and Orthoptera or grasshopper or cricket’ according to Scopus search carried out on 21 February 2025. By 2025, 48 new articles had already been published on the subject, using the same keywords.

Figure 2

Compartmentalization of the digestive tract of Orthoptera; Caelifera based on dissection. (A) Patanga succinta, (B) Locusta migratoria.

Figure 3

Compartmentalization of the digestive tract of Orthoptera; Ensifera based on dissection. (A) Acheta domesticus, (B,C) Grillotalpa grillotalpa, two different individuals, the first one with an empty crop, the second one with a full crop.