scholarly journals Interspecific symbiont transfection confers a novel ecological trait to the recipient insect

2010 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 245-248 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tsutomu Tsuchida ◽  
Ryuichi Koga ◽  
Shogo Matsumoto ◽  
Takema Fukatsu
Keyword(s):  
Acyrthosiphon Pisum ◽  
Natural Populations ◽  
Food Plant ◽  
Laboratory Rearing ◽  
Pea Aphids ◽  
Different Strains ◽  
Aphid Clones ◽  
Aphid Populations

In Japan, pea aphids Acyrthosiphon pisum mainly feed on vetch and clover, and many aphid clones produce more progeny on vetch than on clover. In this context, particular genotypes of the facultative symbiont Regiella insecticola enhance reproduction of infected pea aphids specifically on clover, thereby broadening the suitable food plant range of the insect. A species that is sympatric to A. pisum , vetch aphids Megoura crassicauda , are commonly found on vetch but not on clover. Laboratory rearing of M. crassicauda strains revealed active reproduction on vetch but substantially no reproduction on clover. Experimental transfection of Regiella from A. pisum to M. crassicauda by haemolymph injection established stable and heritable infection in the recipients, although no Regiella infection has been detected in natural populations of M. crassicauda . Different strains of Regiella -transfected M. crassicauda grew and reproduced on vetch, but exhibited lower fitness in comparison with corresponding uninfected aphid strains. Strikingly, the Regiella -transfected M. crassicauda exhibited improved survival and some reproduction on clover. These results suggest that Regiella has the potential to confer an ecological trait, adaptation to clover, on novel insect hosts, and also account for why Regiella is able to infect M. crassicauda but is scarcely found in these aphid populations.

scholarly journals Effects of bacterial secondary symbionts on host plant use in pea aphids

2010 ◽  
Vol 278 (1706) ◽  
pp. 760-766 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. H. C. McLean ◽  
M. van Asch ◽  
J. Ferrari ◽  
H. C. J. Godfray
Keyword(s):  
Host Plant ◽  
Plant Species ◽  
Host Plants ◽  
Acyrthosiphon Pisum ◽  
Direct Role ◽  
Pea Aphids ◽  
Bacterial Associations ◽  
Different Strains ◽  
Species Specific ◽  
Aphid Clones

Aphids possess several facultative bacterial symbionts that have important effects on their hosts' biology. These have been most closely studied in the pea aphid ( Acyrthosiphon pisum ), a species that feeds on multiple host plants. Whether secondary symbionts influence host plant utilization is unclear. We report the fitness consequences of introducing different strains of the symbiont Hamiltonella defensa into three aphid clones collected on Lathyrus pratensis that naturally lack symbionts, and of removing symbionts from 20 natural aphid–bacterial associations. Infection decreased fitness on Lathyrus but not on Vicia faba , a plant on which most pea aphids readily feed. This may explain the unusually low prevalence of symbionts in aphids collected on Lathyrus . There was no effect of presence of symbiont on performance of the aphids on the host plants of the clones from which the H. defensa strains were isolated. Removing the symbiont from natural aphid–bacterial associations led to an average approximate 20 per cent reduction in fecundity, both on the natural host plant and on V. faba , suggesting general rather than plant-species-specific effects of the symbiont. Throughout, we find significant genetic variation among aphid clones. The results provide no evidence that secondary symbionts have a major direct role in facilitating aphid utilization of particular host plant species.

scholarly journals Diversity of Bacteria Associated with Natural Aphid Populations

2003 ◽  
Vol 69 (12) ◽  
pp. 7216-7223 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Haynes ◽  
A. C. Darby ◽  
T. J. Daniell ◽  
G. Webster ◽  
F. J. F. van Veen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Acyrthosiphon Pisum ◽  
Denaturing Gradient Gel Electrophoresis ◽  
Natural Populations ◽  
Geographical Location ◽  
Laboratory Culture ◽  
Aphid Species ◽  
Aphis Fabae ◽  
Rrna Gene ◽  
Gradient Gel Electrophoresis ◽  
Aphid Populations

ABSTRACT The bacterial communities of aphids were investigated by terminal restriction fragment length polymorphism and denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis analysis of 16S rRNA gene fragments generated by PCR with general eubacterial primers. By both methods, theγ -proteobacterium Buchnera was detected in laboratory cultures of six parthenogenetic lines of the pea aphid Acyrthosiphon pisum and one line of the black bean aphid Aphis fabae, and one or more of four previously described bacterial taxa were also detected in all aphid lines except one of A. pisum. These latter bacteria, collectively known as secondary symbionts or accessory bacteria, comprised three taxa of γ-proteobacteria (R-type [PASS], T-type [PABS], and U-type [PAUS]) and a rickettsia (S-type [PAR]). Complementary analysis of aphids from natural populations of four aphid species (A. pisum [n= 74], Amphorophora rubi [n= 109], Aphis sarothamni [n= 42], and Microlophium carnosum [n= 101]) from a single geographical location revealed Buchnera and up to three taxa of accessory bacteria, but no other bacterial taxa, in each aphid. The prevalence of accessory bacterial taxa varied significantly among aphid species but not with the sampling month (between June and August 2000). These results indicate that the accessory bacterial taxa are distributed across multiple aphid species, although with variable prevalence, and that laboratory culture does not generally result in a shift in the bacterial community in aphids. Both the transmission patterns of the accessory bacteria between individual aphids and their impact on aphid fitness are suggested to influence the prevalence of accessory bacterial taxa in natural aphid populations.

POPULATION GROWTH OF THE PEA APHID, ACYRTHOSIPHON PISUM (HARRIS) (HOMOPTERA: APHIDIDAE), AND PLANT RESPONSE TO APHID NUMBERS IN COMMERCIALLY GROWN FIELD PEAS IN MANITOBA

1990 ◽  
Vol 122 (6) ◽  
pp. 1201-1210 ◽  
Author(s):  
J.J. Soroka ◽  
P.A. Mackay
Keyword(s):  
Acyrthosiphon Pisum ◽  
Pea Aphid ◽  
Economic Thresholds ◽  
Field Peas ◽  
Aphid Control ◽  
Pea Aphids ◽  
Significant Yield ◽  
Unsprayed Plot ◽  
Plant Stem ◽  
Aphid Populations

AbstractPea aphids, Acyrthosiphon pisum (Harris), were sampled weekly or biweekly over the summers of 1985 and 1986 in a total of 15 commercial plantings of Century, Trapper, or Triumph field peas across Manitoba. Pea aphid populations rose more quickly in fields of Trapper than in Century or Triumph fields. The owners of all Trapper fields sampled initiated aerial application of insecticide for pea aphid control; at the time of spraying in 1985, plants in Trapper fields had significantly greater numbers of aphids in sweep samples than such samples from Century or Triumph fields. In 1986, Triumph plants supported greater numbers of aphids than Century or Trapper plants. Triumph plants remained green longer than plants of the other cultivais; in 1985 pea aphid numbers on this cultivar were highest on the last date sampled.Yield components were measured in sprayed and unsprayed plots within the commercial fields. When data were averaged for each cultivar, there were no significant differences in yield per area or in 1000 seed weight between sprayed and unsprayed plots. Data indicated that existing economic thresholds are too low for Trapper peas. However, one of the fields of Trapper peas that we sampled had significantly reduced numbers of pods per plant, yield per square metre, and weight of 1000 seeds in the unsprayed plot; this field had the largest population of pea aphids of any field sampled, with aphid numbers peaking at 48.5 ± 9.2 (SE) per plant lip during pod formation and filling. Significant yield losses also occurred in unsprayed plots of a Triumph field, which had a peak aphid population of 4.8 ± 1.6 per plant stem at pod maturation.

scholarly journals Intraspecific variation in symbiont density in an insect-microbe symbiosis

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Benjamin J. Parker ◽  
Jan Hrček ◽  
Ailsa H.C. McLean ◽  
Jennifer A. Brisson ◽  
H. Charles J. Godfray
Keyword(s):  
Intraspecific Variation ◽  
Fungal Pathogens ◽  
Acyrthosiphon Pisum ◽  
Natural Populations ◽  
Pea Aphid ◽  
Optimal Density ◽  
Evolutionary Forces ◽  
Standing Variation ◽  
Dramatic Decline

AbstractMany insects host vertically-transmitted microbes, which can confer benefits to their hosts but are costly to maintain and regulate. A key feature of these symbioses is variation: for example, symbiont density can vary among host and symbiont genotypes. However, the evolutionary forces maintaining this variation remain unclear. We studied variation in symbiont density using the pea aphid (Acyrthosiphon pisum) and the bacterium Regiella insecticola, a symbiont that can protect its host against fungal pathogens. We found that relative symbiont density varies both between two Regiella phylogenetic clades and among aphid ‘biotypes’. Higher-density symbiont infections are correlated with stronger survival costs, but variation in density has little effect on the protection Regiella provides against fungus. Instead, we found that in some aphid genotypes, a dramatic decline in symbiont density precedes the loss of a symbiont infection. Together, our data suggest that the optimal density of a symbiont infection is likely different from the perspective of aphid and microbial fitness. Regiella might prevent loss by maintaining high within-host densities, but hosts do not appear to benefit from higher symbiont numbers and may be advantaged by losing costly symbionts in certain environments. The standing variation in symbiont density observed in natural populations could therefore be maintained by antagonistic coevolutionary interactions between hosts and their symbiotic microbes.

scholarly journals Drop when the stakes are high: adaptive, flexible use of dropping behaviour by aphids

Behaviour ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. 1-21
Author(s):  
Rosalind K. Humphreys ◽  
Graeme D. Ruxton ◽  
Alison J. Karley
Keyword(s):  
Host Plant ◽  
Acyrthosiphon Pisum ◽  
Adalia Bipunctata ◽  
Macrosiphum Euphorbiae ◽  
Herbivorous Insects ◽  
Chrysoperla Carnea ◽  
Pea Aphids ◽  
Potato Aphids ◽  
Antipredator Defence

Abstract For herbivorous insects, dropping from the host plant is a commonly-observed antipredator defence. The use of dropping compared to other behaviours and its timing in relation to contact with a predator was explored in both pea aphids (Acyrthosiphon pisum) and potato aphids (Macrosiphum euphorbiae). Pea aphids dropped more frequently in response to ladybird adults (Adalia bipunctata) than lacewing larvae (Chrysoperla carnea). Potato aphids mainly walked away or backed-up in response to both predator types; but they dropped more frequently relative to other non-walking defences when faced with ladybird adults. Contact with a predator was an important influencer of dropping for both species, and most drops occurred from adjacent to the predator. Dropping appears to be a defence adaptively deployed only when the risk of imminent predation is high; factors that increase dropping likelihood include presence of faster-foraging predators such as adult ladybirds, predator proximity, and contact between aphid and predator.

SEASONAL ABUNDANCE OF THE PEA APHID, ACYRTHOSIPHON PISUM (HOMOPTERA: APHIDIDAE), IN MANITOBA FIELD PEAS

1986 ◽  
Vol 118 (6) ◽  
pp. 601-607 ◽  
Author(s):  
G.A. Maiteki ◽  
R.J. Lamb ◽  
S.T. Ali-Khan
Keyword(s):  
Pisum Sativum ◽  
Acyrthosiphon Pisum ◽  
Pea Aphid ◽  
Seasonal Abundance ◽  
Economic Threshold ◽  
Field Peas ◽  
Pea Aphids

AbstractPea aphids, Acyrthosiphon pisum (Harris), were sampled from 1980 to 1983 in field peas, Pisum sativum (L.), in Manitoba. Sweep and foliage samples were taken in commercial fields and plots. Aphids were found in late May or early June soon after the crop emerged, but populations were low throughout June. Populations increased in July, when the crop was flowering and producing pods, and peaked in the latter half of July or early August in 3 of the 4 years, when pods were maturing. Populations decreased rapidly after the peak, as the plants senesced. In 1980, a drought year, aphid densities were low and the populations peaked in the middle of August. From 1981 to 1983, densities exceeded the economic threshold in all commercial fields and all but one of the plots that were sampled.

scholarly journals Seasonal dynamics and entomophthoralean infection of the pea aphid, Acyrthosiphon pisum Harris

2001 ◽  
Vol 37 (No. 1) ◽  
pp. 17-24 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ľ. Cagáň ◽  
M. Barta
Keyword(s):  
Entomopathogenic Fungi ◽  
Seasonal Dynamics ◽  
Positive Relationship ◽  
Acyrthosiphon Pisum ◽  
Correlation Coefficients ◽  
Pea Aphid ◽  
Infestation Level ◽  
Erynia Neoaphidis ◽  
Growing Seasons ◽  
Aphid Populations

The seasonal dynamics of the pea aphid, Acyrthosiphon pisum Harris, and entomopathogenic fungi from the order Entomophthorales attacking the aphid were analysed in alfalfa and field pea crops during the growing seasons of 1998 and 1999 at Nitra-Malanta. In both years, pea aphid populations on pea showed a pattern with one peak, culminated at flowering and pod formation. The infestation level on alfalfa was low in both years. Entomopathogenic fungi attacking the pea aphid were identified as Erynia neoaphidis Remaudičre and Hennebert and Conidiobolus obscurus (Hall and Dunn) Remaudičre and Keller. Both pathogens infected the aphid on pea, but only E. neoaphidis was found in the alfalfa plots. Infected aphids were not found on alfalfa during 1999. The maximum levels of infected aphids on pea were 10.30% and 48.39% in 1998 and 1999, respectively. During both years alate aphids were more frequently attacked than apteral ones. Correlation coefficients indicated a positive relationship between the number of infected aphids and precipitation, but this relationship was weak or moderately strong. A strong correlation was found between the number of dead aphids and number of alate aphids counted 5 to 10 days earlier.

scholarly journals Establishment and maintenance of aphid endosymbionts after horizontal transfer is dependent on host genotype

2017 ◽  
Vol 13 (5) ◽  
pp. 20170016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Benjamin J. Parker ◽  
Ailsa H. C. McLean ◽  
Jan Hrček ◽  
Nicole M. Gerardo ◽  
H. Charles J. Godfray
Keyword(s):  
Natural Selection ◽  
Microbial Communities ◽  
Host Plant ◽  
Intraspecific Variation ◽  
Horizontal Transfer ◽  
Natural Populations ◽  
Host Genotype ◽  
Pea Aphids

Animal-associated microbial communities have important effects on host phenotypes. Individuals within and among species differ in the strains and species of microbes that they harbour, but how natural selection shapes the distribution and abundance of symbionts in natural populations is not well understood. Symbionts can be beneficial in certain environments but also impose costs on their hosts. Consequently, individuals that can or cannot associate with symbionts will be favoured under different ecological circumstances. As a result, we predict that individuals within a species vary in terms of how well they accept and maintain symbionts. In pea aphids, the frequency of endosymbionts varies among host-plant-associated populations (‘biotypes’). We show that aphid genotypes from different biotypes vary in how well they accept and maintain symbionts after horizontal transfer. We find that aphids from biotypes that frequently harbour symbionts are better able to associate with novel symbionts than those from biotypes that less frequently harbour symbionts. Intraspecific variation in the ability of hosts to interact with symbionts is an understudied factor explaining patterns of host–symbiont association.

INFLUENCE OF STARVATION ON DEVELOPMENT AND REPRODUCTION IN APTEROUS VIRGINOPARAE OF THE PEA APHID, ACYRTHOSIPHON PISUM (HARRIS) (HOMOPTERA: APHIDIDAE)

1992 ◽  
Vol 124 (1) ◽  
pp. 87-95 ◽  
Author(s):  
K.L. Kouamé ◽  
M. Mackauer
Keyword(s):  
Vicia Faba ◽  
Acyrthosiphon Pisum ◽  
Reproductive Investment ◽  
Dry Weight ◽  
Pea Aphid ◽  
Nutrient Loss ◽  
Adult Weight ◽  
Pea Aphids ◽  
Wet Weight ◽  
Growth Development

AbstractThe influence of nutrient stress on growth, development, and reproduction in apterous virginoparae of the pea aphid, Acyrthosiphon pisum (Harris), was investigated in the laboratory. We tested the hypothesis that species with a high reproductive investment have low resistance to starvation. Aphids in two groups were starved daily from birth for 4 h and 6 h, respectively, and compared with feeding counterparts reared on leaves of broad beans, Vicia faba L. Aphid wet weight increased as an exponential function of age in all groups. Starved aphids had lower adult weight and required longer from birth to parturition than feeding aphids. These effects increased with the length of daily starvation. The number of offspring produced was correlated with adult dry weight. Aphids were unable to compensate, or to compensate completely, for water and nutrient loss resulting from starvation. It is suggested that pea aphids allocate resources first to maintenance and then to reproduction when deprived of food.

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