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Temperature is an important environmental factor affecting the growth and development of silkworm (Bombyx mori). To analyze the effect of intestinal microbes on silkworm in response to a high-temperature environment, this study used a combination of high throughput sequencing and biochemical assays to detect silkworm intestinal microbes treated with high temperature for 72 h. The results show that high temperature affects the intestinal microbes of silkworm and that there are sex differences, specifically, females were more sensitive. The changes in the metabolism and transport ability of silkworm intestinal tissues under high temperature are related to the intestinal microbes. High temperatures may affect the intestinal microbes of silkworms, regulating the activity of related digestive enzymes and substance transport in the intestine, thereby affecting the silkworm's digestion and absorption of nutrients, and ultimately affecting growth and development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Diet plays a crucial role in shaping the gut microbiota and overall health of animals. Traditionally, silkworms are fed fresh mulberry leaves, and artificial diets do not support good health. The aim of this study was to explore the relationship between the dietary transition from artificial diets to mulberry leaves and the effects on the gut microbiota and physiological changes in silkworms as a model organism. With the transition from artificial diets to mulberry leaves, the diversity of the silkworm gut microbiota increased, and the proportion of Enterococcus and Weissella, the dominant gut bacterial species in silkworms reared on artificial diets, decreased, whereas the abundance of Achromobacter and Rhodococcus increased. Dietary transition at different times, including the third or fifth instar larval stages, resulted in significant differences in the growth and development, immune resistance, and silk production capacity of silkworms. These changes might have been associated with the rapid adaptation of the intestinal microbiota of silkworms to dietary transition. This study preliminarily established a dietary transition–gut microbial model in silkworms based on the conversion from artificial diets to mulberry leaves, thus providing an important reference for future studies on the mechanisms through which habitual dietary changes affect host physiology through the gut microbiome. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]