Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2024 Oct 23;15(11):830.
doi: 10.3390/insects15110830.

Limited Variation in Bacterial Communities of Scaphoideus titanus (Hemiptera: Cicadellidae) Across European Populations and Different Life Stages

Juan Sebastian Enciso  1 , Erika Corretto  2 , Luigimaria Borruso  1 , Hannes Schuler  1   2
Affiliations

Limited Variation in Bacterial Communities of Scaphoideus titanus (Hemiptera: Cicadellidae) Across European Populations and Different Life Stages

Juan Sebastian Enciso et al. Insects. .

Abstract

The Nearctic leafhopper Scaphoideus titanus (Hemiptera: Cicadellidae) is the primary vector of 'Candidatus Phytoplasma vitis', the causative agent of Flavescence doreé in Europe. Although microorganisms play an important role in the ecology and behavior of insects, knowledge about the interaction between S. titanus and microbes is limited. In this study, we employed an amplicon metabarcoding approach for profiling the V4 region of the 16S rRNA gene to characterize the bacterial communities of S. titanus across several populations from four European localities. Additionally, we investigated changes in bacterial communities between nymphal and adult stages. In total, we identified 7,472 amplicon sequence variants (ASVs) in adults from the European populations. At the genus level, 'Candidatus Karelsulcia' and 'Candidatus Cardinium' were the most abundant genera, with both being present in every individual. While we found significant changes in the microbial composition of S. titanus across different European populations, no significant differences were observed between nymphal and adult stages. Our study reveals new insights into the microbial composition of S. titanus and highlights the role of geography in influencing its bacterial community.

Keywords: 16S rRNA gene metabarcoding; Cardinium; Karelsulcia; Scaphoideus titanus; bacterial communities; endosymbionts.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflicts of interests.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
(Bacterial community composition and diversity in adults of Scaphoideus titanus. (a) Relative abundance at genus level. (b) Comparison of bacterial species richness based on Chao1 index of adults in S. titanus. (c) Comparison of bacterial diversity based on Shannon index of adults in S. titanus. (d) Principal coordinates analysis based on Bray–Curtis dissimilarity matrix showing differences among individuals across Europe. Different letters represent statistically significant differences.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Heatmap showing the distribution of the 30 most abundant amplicon sequence variants (ASVs) in adult individuals of Scaphoideus titanus across Europe.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Bacterial composition of the most common taxa detected in nymphs and adults of Scaphoideus titanus from France. (a) Relative abundance at genus level. Comparison of bacterial species richness based on Chao1 (b) and Shannon indices (c) of adults and nymphs in S. titanus. (d) Principal coordinates analysis based on Bray–Curtis dissimilarity matrix showing Shannon diversity index of nymphs and adults from Bordeaux. Different letters represent statistically significant differences.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Hogenhout S.A., Oshima K., Ammar E.-D., Kakizawa S., Kingdom H.N., Namba S. Phytoplasmas: Bacteria That Manipulate Plants and Insects. Mol. Plant Pathol. 2008;9:403–423. doi: 10.1111/j.1364-3703.2008.00472.x. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Alma A., Lessio F., Nickel H. Insects as Phytoplasma Vectors: Ecological and Epidemiological Aspects. In: Bertaccini A., Weintraub P.G., Rao G.P., Mori N., editors. Phytoplasmas: Plant Pathogenic Bacteria—II: Transmission and Management of Phytoplasma—Associated Diseases. Springer; Singapore: 2019. pp. 1–25.
    1. Gonella E., Benelli G., Arricau-Bouvery N., Bosco D., Duso C., Dietrich C.H., Galetto L., Rizzoli A., Jović J., Mazzoni V., et al. Scaphoideus titanus Up-to-the-Minute: Biology, Ecology, and Role as a Vector. Entomologia. 2024;44:481–496. doi: 10.1127/entomologia/2023/2597. - DOI
    1. Bonfils J., Schvester D. The Leafhoppers (Homoptera: Auchenorrhyncha) and Their Relationship with Vineyards in South-Western France. Ann. Epiphyt. 1960;11:325–336.
    1. Aguin-Pombo D., Aguiar A.M.F., Cravo D. First Report of Scaphoideus titanus for Madeira Island. EPPO Bull. 2020;50:564–567. doi: 10.1111/epp.12683. - DOI

LinkOut - more resources