Fig. 1

Quick re-assembly of ectomicrobiotas on silkworm cuticles after insect ecdysis. a Phenotype of the different ages of silkworm larvae used in experiments. The insects were conventionally reared with mulberry leaves. Bar, 1 cm. b Colony-forming patterns of the bacteria washed off from the different ages of silkworm larvae. c Comparison of the silkworm cuticular bacterial CFUs formed on LB agars among the different ages of silkworm larvae. Two-tailed Student’s t-test was conducted between samples: *, P < 0.05; ***, P < 0.001; ****, P < 0.0001. Ten independent replicates (three insects per replicate) were included for each sample. d The G + bacteria largely inhabiting silkworm larvae body surfaces. LB agars were added with the antibiotic nafcillin for suppressing the G + bacteria whereas the addition of aztreonam for inhibiting the G − bacteria. e Venn diagram analysis showing the overlap of bacterial OTUs among samples. f Variation of the OTU relative abundance at the bacterial genus level among silkworm ectomicrobiotas. L4E, the end of the 4th instar larvae; L5D0, the newly molted 5th instar larvae; L5D3 and L5D6, the third-day and sixth-day old of the 5th instar larvae