Spiroplasmas: diversity of arthropod reservoirs and host-parasite relationships

Abstract

Spiroplasmas were found in 11 new insect hosts representing four orders: Hymenoptera, Hemiptera, Diptera, and Coleoptera. Three of the new spiroplasmas were serologically distinct from all existing groups or subgroups. A spiroplasma that infects digestive tracts of Colorado potato beetles may be transmitted to uninfected insects that feed on contaminated plants. This simple type of spiroplasma-insect relationship may explain a growing list of isolations of spiroplasmas and other wall-less prokaryotes from plant surfaces.