Abstract
Chrysomya megacephala (Diptera: Calliphoridae), commonly referred to as the oriental latrine fly, is a synanthropic blowfly species frequently associated with decomposing organic matter. This study sought to investigate the influence of various feeding substrates and temperature conditions, specifically constant temperatures of 15, 25, 35 °C, and variable temperatures averaging 23.31 °C, on the gut microbiome of C. megacephala. The microbiome analysis was conducted using the Illumina HiSeq platform for 16S rRNA gene sequencing in Changsha, China. Across all experimental conditions, the gut microbiome of C. megacephala yielded 1257 operational taxonomic units (OTUs), which were categorized into 26 phyla, 72 classes, 165 orders, 270 families, 516 genera, and 794 species. The study showed significant differences in the gut microbiome of C. megacephala between different feeding sources and temperature conditions across the lifespan. Low temperature had the potential to reduce the proportion abundance of bacterial communities in the gut microbiome, while high and variable temperature increased them. Metabolism was the main predicted function with diverse phenotypic characters in the gut microbiota of C. megacephala. The presence of diverse bacterial phenotypes in the gut microbiome of C. megacephala highlights its significant interest for medicine and offers promising applications in industry and agriculture.