Differential microbial responses to antibiotic treatments by insecticide-resistant and susceptible cockroach strains (Blattella germanica L.)

The German cockroach ( Blattella germanica L.) is a major urban pest worldwide and is known for its ability to resist insecticides. Past research has shown that gut bacteria in other insects can metabolize xenobiotics, allowing the host to develop resistance. The research presented here determined differences in gut microbial composition between insecticide-resistant and susceptible German cockroaches and compared microbiome changes with antibiotic treatment. Cockroaches received either control diet or diet plus kanamycin (KAN) to quantify shifts in microbial composition. Additionally, both resistant and susceptible strains were challenged with diets containing the insecticides abamectin and fipronil in the presence and absence of antibiotic. In both strains, KAN treatment reduced feeding, leading to higher doses of abamectin and fipronil being tolerated. However, LC50 resistance ratios between resistant and susceptible strains decreased by half with KAN treatment, suggesting gut bacteria mediate resistance. Next, whole guts were isolated, bacterial DNA extracted, and 16S MiSeq was performed. Unlike most bacterial taxa, Stenotrophomonas increased in abundance in only the kanamycin-treated resistant strain and was the most indicative genus in classifying between control and kanamycin-treated cockroach guts. These findings provide unique insights into how the gut microbiome responds to stress and disturbance, and important new insights into microbiome-mediated insecticide resistance.