Symbiont Diversity of Aphis (Toxoptera) citricidus (Hemiptera: Aphididae) as Influenced by Host Plants

• Published in: Microbial ecology Vol. 73; no. 1; pp. 201 - 210
• Main Authors: Guidolin, Aline Sartori, Cônsoli, Fernando Luis
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York Springer Science + Business Media 01.01.2017; Springer US; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Animals; Aphididae; Aphids - microbiology; Aphis; Biodiversity; Biomedical and Life Sciences; Buchnera; Buchnera - genetics; Buchnera - isolation & purification; Buchnera aphidicola; Ecology; Enterobacteriaceae; Enterobacteriaceae - genetics; Enterobacteriaceae - isolation & purification; Geoecology/Natural Processes; Geography; Hemiptera; Host plants; INVERTEBRATE MICROBIOLOGY; Life Sciences; Microbial Ecology; Microbiology; Nature Conservation; Proteobacteria - genetics; Proteobacteria - isolation & purification; Relative abundance; Symbiosis; Toxoptera; Water Quality/Water Pollution; Metagenomics; Symbiont screening; Illumina; Diet breadth; Bacterial community; Food source
• ISSN: 0095-3628; 1432-184X
• DOI: 10.1007/s00248-016-0892-8

Aphids are well known for their association with endosymbiont bacteria. Almost all aphids harbor Buchnera aphidicola as an obligate symbiont and several other bacteria as facultative symbionts. Associations of facultative symbionts and aphids are quite variable in terms of diversity and prevalence across aphid species. Facultative symbionts can have a major impact on aphid bioecological traits. A number of factors shape the outcome of the facultative symbiont-aphid association, including aphid clone, bacterial genotype, geography, and host plant association. The effects of host plant on aphid-facultative symbiont associations are the least understood. We performed deep sequencing of the bacterial community associated with field populations of the oligophagous aphid Aphis (Toxoptera) citricidus collected from different host plants. We demonstrate that (i) A. citricidus has low symbiont diversity, (ii) symbiont diversity is affected by host plant, and (iii) host plants affect the relative abundance of the obligate symbiont Buchnera and an unknown genus of Enterobacteriaceae.