SUMMARY. Insects are one of the most successful groups of multicellular organisms with more than 1 million species. Among them, Belgica antarctica Jacobs (Diptera: Chironomidae) is an endemic species of Antarctica that exist in extremely cold conditions. A significant number of microorganisms colonize most groups of insects, which may lead to a symbiotic interaction, in many cases resulting in an increase of the adaptability of the host organism, for example to cold conditions. Using PCR methods and metagenomic analysis, we demonstrated that the endosymbiotic bacteria Spiroplasma and Wolbachia are probably absent in Belgica antarctica. Nevertheless, we identified 14 bacterial species which are potentially associated with Belgica antarctica and/or with the substrate in which this Diptera species lives by screening whole-genome sequences available in the open databases. Further analysis is needed to elucidate to what extent this association is persistent with Belgica antarctica, and whether identified microorganisms confer any adaptive advantage to this species.
Keywords: microbiome, endosymbionts, Wolbachia, Spiroplasma
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