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  • RESEARCH HIGHLIGHT

A beetle’s secret sauce prevents its diet of carrion from liquefying

The burial beetle and its microbiome conspire to prevent cadavers from rotting.
Burying Beetle feeding on rabbit carcass

A burying beetle feeds on a dead rabbit, which will rot slowly thanks to microbes that the beetle transfers from its gut to the carcass. Credit: Andy Sands/NPL/Getty

A type of beetle that dines on dead animals enlists its own gut bacteria to keep its food fresh.

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Nature 562, 462 (2018)

doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-018-07052-2

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