Microbial community of predatory bugs of the genus Macrolophus(Hemiptera: Miridae)

Abstract

BackgroundThe predatory mirids of the genus Macrolophus are key natural enemies of various economically important agricultural pests. Both M. caliginosus and M. pygmaeus are commercially available for the augmentative biological control of arthropod pests in European greenhouses. The latter species is known to be infected with Wolbachia -inducing cytoplasmic incompatibility in its host- but the presence of other endosymbionts has not been demonstrated. In the present study, the microbial diversity was examined in various populations of M. caliginosus and M. pygmaeus by 16S rRNA sequencing and denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis.ResultsBesides Wolbachia, a co-infection of 2 Rickettsia species was detected in all M. pygmaeus populations. Based on a concatenated alignment of the 16S rRNA gene, the gltA gene and the coxA gene, the first is phylogenetically related to Rickettsia bellii, whereas the other is closely related to Rickettsia limoniae. All M. caliginosus populations were infected with the same Wolbachia and limoniae-like Rickettsia strain as M. pygmaeus, but did not harbour the bellii-like Rickettsia strain. Interestingly, individuals with a single infection were not found. A PCR assay on the ovaries of M. pygmaeus and M. caliginosus indicated that all endosymbionts are vertically transmitted. The presence of Wolbachia and Rickettsia in oocytes was confirmed by a fluorescence in situ hybridisation. A bio-assay comparing an infected and an uninfected M. pygmaeus population suggested that the endosymbionts had minor effects on nymphal development of their insect host and did not influence its fecundity.ConclusionTwo species of the palaearctic mirid genus Macrolophus are infected with multiple endosymbionts, including Wolbachia and Rickettsia. Independent of the origin, all tested populations of both M. pygmaeus and M. caliginosus were infected with three and two endosymbionts, respectively. There was no indication that infection with endosymbiotic bacteria had a fitness cost in terms of development and fecundity of the predators.

Torix group Rickettsia are widespread in Culicoides biting midges (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae), reach high frequency and carry unique genomic features

“…Our analyses clearly positioned RiCNE sequence within the Torix group (Fig. ) previously identified in leeches (Kikuchi et al ., ), amoebae (Dyková et al ., ) and several arthropod orders including Araneae, Diptera, Coleoptera, Psocoptera, Hemiptera and Hymenoptera (Goodacre et al ., ; Perotti et al ., ; Reeves et al ., ; Küchler et al ., ; Zouache et al ., ; Machtelinckx et al ., ; Weinert et al ., ). The RiCNE genome represents the first to be sequenced from this group.…”

Bacterial communities associated with honeybee food stores are correlated with land use

“…Clearly, the depth of analysis possible from next‐generation sequencing technologies allows for a more complete analysis of bacterial community composition. However, despite the lack of complex comparable indices derivable from DGGE, the relative low costs of this technology allowed us to implement an analysis of bacterial communities across a broader spatiotemporal scale where the costs of next‐generation sequencing approaches would have to be prohibitive (Joossens et al., ; Machtelinckx et al., ; Shimano, Sambe, & Kasahara, ). Thus, both of these techniques maintain merit for discussing microbial ecology.…”

“…However, despite the lack of complex comparable indices derivable from DGGE, the relative low costs of this technology allowed us to implement an analysis of bacterial communities across a broader spatiotemporal scale where the costs of next-generation sequencing approaches would have to be prohibitive (Joossens et al, 2011;Machtelinckx et al, 2012;Shimano, Sambe, & Kasahara, 2012).…”

Wolbachia dominate Spiroplasma in the co‐infected spider mite Tetranychus truncatus

“…Symbiont co‐infections are common in arthropods, such as spider mites, aphids and grasshoppers (Machtelinckx et al ., ; Lukasik et al ., ; Wamwiri et al ., ; Funkhouser‐Jones et al ., ; Moutailler et al ., ; Zhang et al ., ; Zytynska and Weisser, ; Nguyen et al ., ). The presence of co‐infections in mites and other arthropods raises questions about how such infections are generally maintained.…”