Microbiota Perturbation or Elimination Can Inhibit Normal Development and Elicit a Starvation-Like Response in an Omnivorous Model Invertebrate

Abstract

Broadly accessible model organisms are essential for illustrating how microbes are engaged in the growth, development, and evolution of animals. We report that germfree rearing of omnivorous Periplaneta americana cockroaches resulted in growth defects and severely disrupted gene networks that regulate development, which highlights the importance of gut microbiota in these host processes.