The nutritional metabolic process of the dung beetle Phelotrupes auratus depends on the host animal

Background: The dung beetle Phelotrupes auratus is a holometabolous insect belonging to the order Coleoptera, and it is widely distributed in Japan. The P. auratus habitat depends on host herbivore animals. P. auratus eats the dung of the host herbivores and carries it underground for its young. In this process, herbivore droppings disappear from the ground, not only keeping the ground hygienic but also maintaining good soil conditions for plant growth. In this way, a rich ecosystem is maintained. In recent years, the population of P. auratus has decreased, and the main cause has been the decrease in grazing land. It seems that Japanese dung beetles are mainly dependent on herbivores for nutrient sources. However, the physiological relationship between host herbivores and P. auratus has not been well investigated. Here, we investigated the nutritional metabolism system of P. auratus by performing whole gene expression analysis of individuals collected from two areas where the ecosystem is occupied by different specific herbivores. Results: : We obtained 209,123 transcripts from P. auratus from Nara Park and Cape Toi and identified 2,592 differentially expressed genes in the fat bodies of the Nara Park and Cape Toi groups. We annotated P. auratus transcripts using Homo sapiens and Drosophila melanogaster genes as references; 36.6% of P. auratus transcripts were assigned to H. sapiens genes, and 24.7% of P. auratus transcripts were assigned to D. melanogaster genes. Therefore, we chose H. sapiens genes for P. auratus transcript annotation. Principal component analysis and gene set enrichment analysis revealed that the nutritional metabolism of P. auratus from Cape Toi might differ from that of P. auratus from Nara Park. Conclusion: We analyzed the nutritional metabolism system of P. auratus from Cape Toi and Nara Park and found that the characteristics of the nutritional metabolism process might depend on the plants consumed by the host herbivore. Our findings will contribute to elucidating the relationships among habitat plants, herbivores, and dung decomposers and may aid in the maintenance of sustainable land health cycles.