Fungal Associates of Soft Scale Insects (Coccomorpha: Coccidae)

Szklarzewicz, Teresa; Michalik, Katarzyna; Grzywacz, Beata; Kalandyk-Kołodziejczyk, Małgorzata; Michalik, Anna

doi:10.3390/cells10081922

Cited by 12 publications

(13 citation statements)

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“…We infer that the strong signal of insect sources in the FEAST analysis is not primarily due to vertical transmission, which should lead to more homogenous and less diverse communities than we observe here [56]. Although our understanding of vertical transmission from parent to offspring among insects has been primarily derived from studies of bacterial symbionts [57][58][59][60][61], vertical transmission of fungal symbionts in insects does occur [56,[62][63][64]. Transovarial transmission was recently demonstrated as a mechanism for Ophiocordyceps fungal symbionts of scale insects [63], as well as for the microsporidian pathogen Nosema bombycis in the related tobacco cutworm pest Spodoptera litura [65].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 96%

“…Although our understanding of vertical transmission from parent to offspring among insects has been primarily derived from studies of bacterial symbionts [57][58][59][60][61], vertical transmission of fungal symbionts in insects does occur [56,[62][63][64]. Transovarial transmission was recently demonstrated as a mechanism for Ophiocordyceps fungal symbionts of scale insects [63], as well as for the microsporidian pathogen Nosema bombycis in the related tobacco cutworm pest Spodoptera litura [65]. Although S. frugiperda may harbor a few taxa that are vertically transmitted, perhaps those we identify as core, and shared across a majority of insects sampled (Table S1), we infer that the strong source contribution of conspecific insects found by FEAST is more likely due to horizontal transmission, the acquisition of microbial symbionts from other insects or from shared environmental sources.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Sources of Fungal Symbionts in the Microbiome of a Mobile Insect Host, Spodoptera frugiperda

2022

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The sources of fungal symbionts of insects are not well understood, yet the acquisition and assembly of fungal communities in mobile insect hosts have important implications for the ecology of migratory insects and their plant hosts. To determine potential sources of fungi associated with the fall armyworm (Spodoptera frugiperda), we characterized the fungal communities associated with four different ecological compartments (insects, infested leaves, uninfested leaves, and soil) and estimated the contributions of each of these potential sources to the insect’s fungal microbiome. Results show that insect fungal community composition was distinct from and more varied than the composition of fungal communities in the environment of those insects (plants and soil). Among the sources evaluated, on average we found a surprisingly large apparent contribution from other congeneric S. frugiperda insect larvae (ca. 25%) compared to the contribution from soil or plant sources (< 5%). However, a large proportion of the insect microbiome could not be attributed to the sampled sources and was instead attributed to unknown sources (ca. 50%). Surprisingly, we found little evidence for exchange of fungal taxa, with the exception of a Fusarium oxysporum and a Cladosporium sp. OTU, between larvae and the infested leaves on which they fed. Together, our results suggest that mobile insects such as S. frugiperda obtain their fungal symbionts from a variety of sources, not limited to plants and soil, but including conspecific insects and other unsampled environmental sources, and that transmission among insects may play an important role in acquisition of fungal symbionts.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 96%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sources of Fungal Symbionts in the Microbiome of a Mobile Insect Host, Spodoptera frugiperda

2022

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“…Therefore, it is very likely that the transcripts and reads assigned to the family Ophiocordycipitaceae in all our libraries belonged to S. titanus YLSs that were experimentally characterized. In this context, it is notable that also fungal endosymbionts of cicadas (Matsuura et al, 2018 ), leafhoppers (Nishino et al, 2016 ; Kobiałka et al, 2018 ), aphids (Vogel and Moran, 2013 ), scale insects (Podsiadło et al, 2018 ; Szklarzewicz et al, 2021 ), and planthoppers (Suh et al, 2001 ) appeared to be phylogenetically related to the genus Ophiocordyceps .…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Metatranscriptomic Assessment of the Microbial Community Associated With the Flavescence dorée Phytoplasma Insect Vector Scaphoideus titanus

et al. 2022

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Phytoplasmas are insect-borne pathogenic bacteria that cause major economic losses to several crops worldwide. The dynamic microbial community associated with insect vectors influences several aspects of their biology, including their vector competence for pathogens. Unraveling the diversity of the microbiome of phytoplasma insect vectors is gaining increasing importance in the quest to develop novel microbe-based pest control strategies that can minimize the use of insecticides for better environmental quality. The leafhopper Scaphoideus titanus is the primary vector of the Flavescence dorée phytoplasma, a quarantine pest which is dramatically affecting the main grape-growing European countries. In this study, the RNA-Seq data, which were previously used for insect virus discovery, were further explored to assess the composition of the whole microbial community associated with insects caught in the wild in both its native (the United States) and invasive (Europe) areas. The first de novo assembly of the insect transcriptome was used to filter the host sequencing reads. The remaining ones were assembled into contigs and analyzed by blastx to provide the taxonomic identification of the microorganisms associated with S. titanus, including the non-bacterial components. By comparing the transcriptomic libraries, we could differentiate the stable and consistent associations from the more ephemeral and flexible ones. Two species appeared to be universal to the core microbiome of S. titanus: the obligate bacterial symbiont Candidatus Sulcia muelleri and an Ophiocordyceps-allied fungus distantly related to yeast-like symbionts described from other hemipterans. Bacteria of the genus Cardinium have been identified as another dominant member of the microbiome, but only in the European specimens. Although we are yet to witness how the interplay among the microorganisms influences the vector competence of S. titanus, this unbiased in silico characterization of its microbiome is paramount for identifying the naturally occurring targets for new biocontrol strategies to counteract Flavescence dorée spread in Europe.

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“…Coccoids are plant sap-sucking hemipterans that are considered serious pests in agriculture, horticulture, and forestry [ 2 ]. Szklarzewicz and coauthors [ 2 ] investigated the symbiotic systems of eight Polish species of scale insects of the Coccidae family: Parthenolecanium corni , Parthenolecanium fletcheri , Parthenolecanium pomeranicum , Psilococcus ruber , Sphaerolecanium prunasti , Eriopeltis festucae , Lecanopsis formicarum and Eulecanium tiliae . The histological, ultrastructural and molecular analyses showed that all these species host fungal symbionts in fat body cells.…”

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confidence: 99%

“…Ophiocordyceps fungi are commonly known as virulent, specialized entomopathogens. The essential role of the fungal symbionts observed in the biology of the soft scale insects examined was confirmed by their transovarial transmission between generations [ 2 ].…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%