Understanding what conditions alter insect gut microbial communities is important for management and conservation of insect herbivores like grasshoppers and katydids. This dataset represents the constituents of the gut microbiome of the common meadow katydid, Orchelimum vulgare (n=13), when subjected to added nutrients. The objective was to identify whether or not there would be shifts in characteristic microbial groups or changes in levels of community diversity when nitrogen and phosphorus or sodium were added to the host environment.  Katydids were harvested and processed and their gut microbiome subsequently sequenced to identify microbial taxa present in the host.

Individual specimens of the common meadow katydid Orchelimum vulgare were collected from a coastal tall grass prairie in Texas. This prairie had been divided into treatment plots recieving added sodium and added nitrogen and phophorus.  Some plots recieved no added nutrients.  The treatments were as follows: added sodium only (Sodium), added nitrogen and phosphorus only (NP), both added sodium and added nitrogen and phosphorus (NPNA), and no added nutrients (None).  No katydid was collected from the same plot.  There were a total of 13 individuals: Sodium (n=4), NP (n=3), NPNA (n=3), None (n=3).

Each individual was dissected and the entire gut was removed. The DNA was extracted from the gut after homogenization and lysis. DNA was sent for 16s sequencing of the V3-V4 region and the ITS2 region.  Bacterial and fungal communities were characterized using the Greenegenes database (gg_13_8).