Preliminary evidence of the horizontal transmission of Wolbachia between Crioceris leaf beetles (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae) and their Asparagus host plants

• Published in: European journal of entomology Vol. 114; no. 1; pp. 446 - 454
• Main Authors: KOLASA, Michal, MONTAGNA, Matteo, MEREGHETTI, Valeria, KUBISZ, Daniel, MAZUR, Milosz A., KAJTOCH, Lukasz
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Ceske Budejovice Institute of Entomology 01.01.2017; Institute of Entomology, Biology Centre, Czech Academy of Science
• Subjects: alpha-proteobacteria; Arthropoda; Arthropods; Asparagus; Bacteria; Beetles; Chrysomelidae; Coleoptera; Crioceris; Crioceris asparagi; Crioceris duodecimpunctata; Crioceris paracenthesis; Crioceris quatuordecimpunctata; Crioceris quinquepunctata; Cytoplasmic incompatibility; Deoxyribonucleic acid; DNA; Endosymbionts; Genes; Habitats; horizontal transmission; Host plants; Incompatibility; Insects; Leaves; molecular ecology; Multilocus sequence typing; Offspring; Parthenogenesis; Phylogenetics; Plant tissues; Proteobacteria; Reproduction (biology); Sex ratio; Speciation; Species; Studies; Sympatric populations; Vegetables; Wolbachia
• ISSN: 1210-5759; 1802-8829
• DOI: 10.14411/eje.2017.057

Intracellular bacteria of the genus Wolbachia (a-Proteobacteria) are the most widespread endosymbionts of insects. Host infection is usually associated with alterations in reproduction, such as cytoplasmic incompatibility, the induction of parthenogenesis and offspring sex ratio bias: all phenomena that may infl uence host speciation. In the present study, by using wellestablished molecular tools, we investigated the presence of Wolbachia in leaf beetles of the genus Crioceris and their host plants, which are various species of Asparagus. Multilocus sequence typing of bacterial genes showed that despite their occurrence in the same habitat and feeding on the same plant, two species of Crioceris, C. quinquepunctata and C. quatuordecimpunctata, are infected by two different strains of Wolbachia. C. asparagi, C. paracenthesis and C. duodecimpunctata, which are sympatric with the infected species, do not harbour the bacterium. Interestingly, DNA of Wolbachia was detected in host plant tissues that are exploited by the beetles, providing evidence for the horizontal transmission of the bacterium between beetles and their host plants. Moreover, Wolbachia was detected in species of Crioceris that are not closely related.