Geographic patterns in the bacterial microbiome of the glassy-winged sharpshooter, Homalodisca vitripennis (Hemiptera: Cicadellidae)

Abstract

Numerous environmental and physiological factors influence the composition of the bacterial microbiome inhabiting an insect. Pyrosequencing of bacterial 16S rRNA sequences was used to identify bacterial taxa inhabiting 50 Homalodisca vitripennis collected from nine Texas vineyards collected during the summer of 2007. After quantifying distances between insects based on differences in bacterial community composition, it was clear that the geographical locations of the insects collected had a substantial influence on their internal bacterial microbiota composition. There was a clear tendency for insects collected from the same vineyard to cluster in principal component analyses using said distances. A single bacterial species, Candidatus Baumannia cicadellinicola, a primary endosymbiont, represented the majority of bacteria sampled. Many of the more common bacterial genera contain a majority of species known previously to inhabit soil and plants exclusively, suggesting that the insect's environment is a major source of abundant species of microflora. Many of the bacterial genera sampled had significant positive correlations with other bacteria, and many of these correlations were between genera with the same order.

Improved draft reference genome for the Glassy-winged Sharpshooter (Homalodisca vitripennis), a vector for Pierce’s disease

“…In addition to these two obligate symbionts, Wolbachia sp. have been observed as abundant facultative symbionts in this species (Moran et al 2003;Wu et al 2006;Curley et al 2007;Hail et al 2011;Rogers and Backus 2014;Welch et al 2015;Pascar and Chandler 2018).…”

Regional biogeography of microbiota composition in the Chagas disease vector Rhodnius pallescens

“…Geographical differences in microbiota have been observed in ticks [15, 18, 20, 24, 25], but not in mosquitoes where species-specific microbiota is thought to be stable [36]. One study in triatomines did not observe any difference in the microbiota between three distant locations in the southern USA for Triatoma protracta [23], which is a trend that has been confirmed [81] and opposed [82] in other hemipterans. As in other insect species, taxonomic clade-wide stability of microbiota composition with regard to one environmental variable or another does not appear to be consistent.…”

Bacterial diversity of bacteriomes and organs of reproductive, digestive and excretory systems in two cicada species (Hemiptera: Cicadidae)

“…The genus Rhodococcus was detected from both cicada species in our study. Members of this genus have been found in blood-sucking bugs of the genus Triatoma , the parasitic fly Wohlfahrtia magnifica (Schiner) [ 49 , 50 ], and the leafhopper Homalodisca vitripennis [ 51 ]. Rhodococcus rhodnii is an endosymbiont of the bug Rhodnius prolixus (Stål) and may supply the bug with B vitamins.…”