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Vol. 50 No. 4, 2011
Occurrence and Distribution of Microflora in the Gut Regions
of the Variegated Grasshopper Zonocerus
variegatus (Orthoptera:
Pyrgomorphidae) during Development
Kehinde
O. Ademolu* and Adewunmi B. Idowu
Biological
Sciences Department, Univ. of Agriculture, Abeokuta P.M.B 2240,
Abeokuta, Ogun State, Nigeria
Kehinde
O. Ademolu* and Adewunmi B. Idowu (2011) The variegated grasshopper Zonocerus variegatus, like other
insects, harbors microorganisms in its alimentary canal system. In this
study, we investigated the occurrence and distribution of microflora in
the gut regions of Z. variegatus
during post embryonic development (1st instar to the adult stage) and
food plants it consumed using a pour-plate method. The colony forming
units (cfu) of bacteria, yeasts, and molds increased from the 1st
instar stage to the adult stage, with the midgut having the highest
occurrence of the 3 gut regions. Staphylococcus aureus was the most
widely distributed bacteria in the gut while Klebsiella spp. were the
least. In the mold category, Penicillium
sp. and Aspergillus niger had the widest distributions,
whereas Candida sp. was the
only isolated yeast. There was a positive relationship (r2 = 0.4797) between
bacterial cfu and the stage of development of the insect. Similarity
was observed in the species of organisms isolated from the gut regions
and food plants consumed by the insects. The relevance of gut
microflora to the insect hosts and their mode of transmission are
further discussed.
Key words: Gut
microflora, Zonocerus variegatus, Food plant,
Transmission mode.
*Correspondence: E-mail:kennyademolu@yahoo.com
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