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. 2021 Aug 11;16(8):e0256019.
doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0256019. eCollection 2021.

Insight into the bacterial communities of the subterranean aphid Anoecia corni

Samir Fakhour  1   2 , François Renoz  2 , Jérôme Ambroise  3 , Inès Pons  2 , Christine Noël  2 , Jean-Luc Gala  3 , Thierry Hance  2
Affiliations

Insight into the bacterial communities of the subterranean aphid Anoecia corni

Samir Fakhour et al. PLoS One. .

Abstract

Many insect species are associated with bacterial partners that can significantly influence their evolutionary ecology. Compared to other insect groups, aphids harbor a bacterial microbiota that has the reputation of being poorly diversified, generally limited to the presence of the obligate nutritional symbiont Buchnera aphidicola and some facultative symbionts. In this study, we analyzed the bacterial diversity associated with the dogwood-grass aphid Anoecia corni, an aphid species that spends much of its life cycle in a subterranean environment. Little is known about the bacterial diversity associated with aphids displaying such a lifestyle, and one hypothesis is that close contact with the vast microbial community of the rhizosphere could promote the acquisition of a richer bacterial diversity compared to other aphid species. Using 16S rRNA amplicon Illumina sequencing on specimens collected on wheat roots in Morocco, we identified 10 bacterial operational taxonomic units (OTUs) corresponding to five bacterial genera. In addition to the obligate symbiont Buchnera, we identified the facultative symbionts Serratia symbiotica and Wolbachia in certain aphid colonies. The detection of Wolbachia is unexpected as it is considered rare in aphids. Moreover, its biological significance remains unknown in these insects. Besides, we also detected Arsenophonus and Dactylopiibacterium carminicum. These results suggest that, despite its subterranean lifestyle, A. corni shelter a bacterial diversity mainly limited to bacterial endosymbionts.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Figures

Fig 1
Fig 1. Geographical location of collection sites of A. corni colonies analyzed in this study (for details, see S1 Table in the supporting information).
Fig 2
Fig 2. Relative abundance of bacterial taxa from Illumina sequencing of 16S rRNA amplicons, represented as a heat map based on the log-transformed values.
The warm colors indicating higher and cold colors indicating lower abundance. Each color bar corresponding to one sampled colony.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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