Manentzos, AN, Pahl, AMC, Melloh, P, Martin, EA and Leybourne, DJ 
ORCID: 0000-0001-5836-3849
(2024)
Low prevalence of secondary endosymbionts in aphids sampled from rapeseed crops in Germany.
Bulletin of entomological research.
pp. 1-6.
Abstract
Peach-potato aphids, <i>Myzus persicae</i> Sulzer (Hemiptera:Aphididae), and cabbage aphids, <i>Brevicoryne brassicae</i> Linnaeus (Hemiptera:Aphididae), are herbivorous insects of significant agricultural importance. Aphids can harbour a range of non-essential (facultative) endosymbiotic bacteria that confer multiple costs and benefits to the host aphid. A key endosymbiont-derived phenotype is protection against parasitoid wasps, and this protective phenotype has been associated with several defensive enodsymbionts. In recent years greater emphasis has been placed on developing alternative pest management strategies, including the increased use of natural enemies such as parasitoids wasps. For the success of aphid control strategies to be estimated the presence of defensive endosymbionts that can potentially disrupt the success of biocontrol agents needs to be determined in natural aphid populations. Here, we sampled aphids and mummies (parasitised aphids) from an important rapeseed production region in Germany and used multiplex PCR assays to characterise the endosymbiont communities. We found that aphids rarely harboured facultative endosymbionts, with 3.6% of <i>M. persicae</i> and 0% of <i>B. brassicae</i> populations forming facultative endosymbiont associations. This is comparable with endosymbiont prevalence described for <i>M. persicae</i> populations surveyed in Australia, Europe, Chile, and USA where endosymbiont infection frequencies range form 0-2%, but is in contrast with observations from China where <i>M. persicae</i> populations have more abundant and diverse endosymbiotic communities (endosymbionts present in over 50% of aphid populations).
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | Hamiltonella defensa, Rickettsiella, aphid endosymbionts, facultative endosymbiont, insect symbionts |
| Divisions: | Faculty of Health and Life Sciences Faculty of Health and Life Sciences > Institute of Infection, Veterinary and Ecological Sciences |
| Depositing User: | Symplectic Admin |
| Date Deposited: | 21 Mar 2024 16:13 |
| Last Modified: | 21 Mar 2024 16:13 |
| DOI: | 10.1017/s0007485324000063 |
| Open Access URL: | https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/bulletin-o... |
| Related URLs: | |
| URI: | https://livrepository.liverpool.ac.uk/id/eprint/3179787 |
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