Molecular Gut Content Analysis: Deciphering Trophic Interactions of Insects

Dear Colleagues,

The analysis of gut contents using molecular biology techniques is an exciting process and one of the most accurate ways to confirm the diet composition of many types of consumers. For the study of trophic interactions of insects, the detection of ingested DNA is suitable for identifying the gut contents of insects that feed on plants and animals, as well as identifying the gut contents of vertebrates and invertebrates that feed on insects. Ultimately, molecular biology approaches allow us to broadly identify the role of insects in trophic interactions. This knowledge is critical for understanding species feeding preferences, detecting and predicting novel plant–insect–predator associations, and ultimately deciphering trophic interactions involving insects in natural communities. Knowledge of trophic interactions becomes especially important when the study species are agricultural or forest pests and the information about their trophic interactions has important implications for biological control and other pest management options. Gut content analysis using molecular biology approaches, however, is also a challenging and time-consuming approach because of the potentially low concentration or quick degradation of ingested plant or animal DNA. This Special Issue welcomes recent research on plant and animal DNA detection in the gut contents of insect herbivores and predators, respectively, as well as insect DNA detection in the gut contents of their predators, vertebrate or invertebrate. DNA-based protocols, short experimental reports, and original research articles, as well as review papers that broadly cover issues relating to molecular gut content analysis of various insect species (leaf-chewing insects, sap-feeders, soil-dwelling insects, etc.) and insect predators (both invertebrates and vertebrates) are of interest for this Special Issue. Studies that utilize both basic and advanced molecular biology methods are invited for submission.

Prof. Dr. William Lamp
Dr. Alina Avanesyan
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Insects is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.