Green lacewings (Neuroptera: Chrysopidae) are commonly associated with a diversity of rickettsial endosymbionts

Gerth, Michael ORCID: 0000-0001-7553-4072, Wolf, Ronny, Bleidorn, Christoph, Richter, Julia, Sontowski, Rebekka, Unrein, Jasmin, Schlegel, Martin and Gruppe, Axel (2017) Green lacewings (Neuroptera: Chrysopidae) are commonly associated with a diversity of rickettsial endosymbionts. ZOOLOGICAL LETTERS, 3 (1). 12-.

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Official URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/s40851-017-0072-9

Abstract

<h4>Background</h4>Bacterial symbionts transmitted from mothers to offspring are found in the majority of arthropods. Numerous studies have illustrated their wide impact on host biology, such as reproduction, behavior, and physiology One of the most common inherited symbionts is <i>Rickettsia</i> spp. (Alphaproteobacteria, Rickettsiales), which are found in about one-quarter of terrestrial arthropods, as well as in other invertebrates. In insect populations, <i>Rickettsia</i> spp. have been reported to cause reproductive modifications and fecundity-enhancing effects. Here, we investigated the incidence and genetic diversity of <i>Rickettsia</i> symbionts in green lacewings (Neuroptera, Chrysopidae), which are best known for their use as biological control agents against crop pests.<h4>Results</h4>We screened 18 species of green lacewings and allies for <i>Rickettsia</i> and found the symbiont in 10 species, infecting 20-100% of sampled individuals. Strain characterization based on multiple bacterial loci revealed an unprecedented diversity of <i>Rickettsia</i> associated with lacewings, suggesting multiple independent acquisitions. Further, the detected <i>Rickettsia</i> lineages are restricted to a specific lineage (i.e., species or genus) of investigated lacewings, and these associations are stable across multiple sampled locations and points in time.<h4>Conclusions</h4>We conclude that <i>Rickettsia</i>-lacewing symbioses are common and evolutionarily stable. The role of these symbionts remains to be identified, but is potentially important to optimizing their use in biological pest control.

Item Type:	Article
Uncontrolled Keywords:	Biological control, Chrysopa, Chrysoperla, Endosymbiosis, Neuropterida, Rickettsia
Depositing User:	Symplectic Admin
Date Deposited:	14 Feb 2019 14:03
Last Modified:	19 Jan 2023 01:03
DOI:	10.1186/s40851-017-0072-9
Open Access URL:	https://doi.org/10.1186/s40851-017-0072-9
Related URLs:	Author Publisher
URI:	https://livrepository.liverpool.ac.uk/id/eprint/3032863