Cross-domain cooperation drives nutrient acquisition and metabolism in the bark beetle holobiont

Abstract

Abstract Microbial symbiosis underpins host adaptation, yet mechanisms of metabolic integration in holobionts remain unclear. Using metatranscriptomics, genomics, and metabolic assays, we investigated gut microbiome interactions in the European spruce bark beetle (Ips typographus). We observed metabolic complementarity among symbionts and host, forming cross-domain networks that support nutrient acquisition. Nitrogen recycling revealed strong interdependence: no single partner possessed a complete uric acid degradation pathway, but combined evidence supports a distributed pathway spanning beetle, bacteria, and fungi. Additionally, bacterial nitrate reduction to ammonia indicates a potential nitrogen influx, making otherwise inaccessible inorganic nitrogen available to the host. Shaped by microbial interactions, symbionts also likely supply specific amino acids, while vitamin metabolism showed cross-domain co-metabolism, with bacteria as main producers of B vitamins, while host and fungi modulated interconversion. Carbohydrate degradation was highly partitioned; bacteria target xylan and pectin, while fungi contribute to glucan breakdown. Crucially, our data provide indirect evidence that the beetle may contribute to complete cellulose degradation, highlighting an underappreciated host role in lignocellulose processing. In terms of enzymatic functional diversity, the bacteriome emerged as the most important microbiome component—an observation that contrasts with the traditional focus on fungi and underscores the need to consider bacterial contributions in insect symbioses. Despite life-stage variation, core metabolic functions remained stable. Overall, metabolic interdependence, rather than microbial composition alone, structures holobiont function. These results highlight functional redundancy and ecological resilience, emphasizing the importance of microbial cooperation and host–microbe metabolic evolution.