NSF East Asia and Pacific Summer Institute for FY 2012 in Taiwan

Shelomi Matan, Davis CA

Investigators

Abstract

This action funds Matan Shelomi of the University of California, Davis, to conduct a research project, entitled "Gut Microbial Communities of the Stick Insects," during the summer of 2012 at Academia Sinica in Taipei, Tawian. The host scientist is Dr. Chih-Horng Kuo. The Intellectual Merit of the research project is that it provides the first look at the digestive microbes of the walking sticks (Phasmatodea), an understudied order of which almost nothing is known about their digestive system. What little we do know suggests that the gut must contain some unique and so-far unknown adaptations for the grinding and digestion of the insects' leafy diets, for they do not have the same grinding organs as their relatives, the grasshoppers, or fermentation chambers like termites and roaches. The research investigates that the phasmid gut contains a complex microbial community that may contain symbionts with a digestive function, such as cellulose breakdown. During the course of this project, walking stick guts, diet, and wastes are being analyzed with modern, molecular techniques to identify all bacteria in the samples, their sources, and relative abundance, with the goal of helping understand how the insect is able to survive on its leafy diet. The data not only is of interest to biologists, but also to the biofuel industry, for the challenges these insects must overcome are the same as those that industry has been dealing with in trying to efficiently break down cellulosic matter. Broader Impacts of an EAPSI fellowship include providing the Fellow a first-hand research experience outside the U.S.; an introduction to the science, science policy, and scientific infrastructure of the respective location; and an orientation to the society, culture and language. These activities meet the NSF goal to educate for international collaborations early in the career of its scientists, engineers, and educators, thus ensuring a globally aware U.S. scientific workforce.