Diversity of Symbiotic Organs and Bacterial Endosymbionts of Lygaeoid Bugs of the Families Blissidae and Lygaeidae (Hemiptera: Heteroptera: Lygaeoidea)

Abstract

Here we present comparative data on the localization and identity of intracellular symbionts among the superfamily Lygaeoidea (Insecta: Hemiptera: Heteroptera: Pentatomomorpha). Five different lygaeoid species from the families Blissidae and Lygaeidae (sensu stricto; including the subfamilies Lygaeinae and Orsillinae) were analyzed. Fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) revealed that all the bugs studied possess paired bacteriomes that are differently shaped in the abdomen and harbor specific endosymbionts therein. The endosymbionts were also detected in female gonads and at the anterior poles of developing eggs, indicating vertical transmission of the endosymbionts via ovarial passage, in contrast to the posthatch symbiont transmission commonly found among pentatomoid bugs (Pentatomomorpha: Pentatomoidea). Phylogenetic analysis based on 16S rRNA and groEL genes showed that the endosymbionts of Ischnodemus sabuleti, Arocatus longiceps, Belonochilus numenius, Orsillus depressus, and Ortholomus punctipennis constitute at least four distinct clades in the Gammaproteobacteria. The endosymbiont phylogeny did not agree with the host phylogeny based on the mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase I (COI) gene, but there was a local cospeciating pattern within the subfamily Orsillinae. Meanwhile, the endosymbiont of Belonochilus numenius (Lygaeidae: Orsillinae), although harbored in paired bacteriomes as in other lygaeoid bugs of the related genera Nysius, Ortholomus, and Orsillus, was phylogenetically close to "Candidatus Rohrkolberia cinguli," the endosymbiont of Chilacis typhae (Lygaeoidea: Artheneidae), suggesting an endosymbiont replacement in this lineage. The diverse endosymbionts and the differently shaped bacteriomes may reflect independent evolutionary origins of the endosymbiotic systems among lygaeoid bugs.

Phylogenetic Evidence for Ancient and Persistent Environmental Symbiont Reacquisition in Largidae (Hemiptera: Heteroptera)

“…4). Transitions to vertically transmitted symbionts have been suggested to be driven by evolutionary pressures tied to specialization (35,66), but many heteropteran plant specialists retain environmentally acquired symbioses (6,67), suggesting a more nuanced evolutionary explanation. Comparative approaches focused on sister groups with different transmission strategies in the Heteroptera may yield useful biological correlations, although many additional phylogenetic and biological data will be required.…”

Endosymbiotic microorganisms of aphids (Hemiptera: Sternorrhyncha: Aphidoidea): Ultrastructure, distribution and transovarial transmission

“…Buchner, 1965;Szklarzewicz & Moskal, 2001;Szklarzewicz et al, 2006Szklarzewicz et al, , 2010Szklarzewicz et al, , 2013Sacchi et al, 2008;Kuechler et al, 2012Kuechler et al, , 2013Swiatoniowska et al, 2013 for further details). Both the histological studies of Buchner (1965Buchner ( , 1966Buchner ( , 1967) and more recent ultrastructural studies (Cheng & Hou, 2001;Szklarzewicz & Moskal, 2001;Szklarzewicz et al, 2006Szklarzewicz et al, , 2010Szklarzewicz et al, , 2013Sacchi et al, 2008;Kuechler et al, 2011Kuechler et al, , 2012Koga et al, 2012;Matsuura et al, 2012;Swiatoniowska et al, 2013) have revealed that the latter transmission of endosymbionts (termed transovarial transmission) may differ even in closely related groups of hemipterans. The endosymbiotic microorganisms may invade young germ cells termed cystocytes (i.e.…”

Some Like It Hot: Evolution and Ecology of Novel Endosymbionts in Bat Flies of Cave-Roosting Bats (Hippoboscoidea, Nycterophiliinae)

“…However, given our current state of knowledge, the most parsimonious explanation would involve a replacement from a likely ancestral endosymbiotic association (i.e., all other streblid bat flies known have an Arsenophonus-like association). Symbiont replacements are often hypothesized to result from competition among symbiont populations and/or selective pressure on the symbiont host in connection with ecological shifts (7,30,32). For blood-feeding insects, this is commonly understood as a trophic shift to a nutrient-poor diet (blood) and may have been a driving factor for the initial establishment of symbiosis in bat flies.…”