Insect “Symbiology” Is Coming of Age, Bridging Between Bench and Field

Abstract

Insects are major contributors to natural as well as to man-managed ecosystems and largely bear on human affairs, both positively and negatively. They have varied microbial communities that provide them with nutritional benefits, enhanced defenses, and improved stress resistance. This review centers on nutritional contributions of gut symbionts to their insect hosts. It explores the complex relationships between symbiont, host nutrition, and host life cycle, summarizing some of the important developments in symbiotic science. It particularly focuses on Tephritidae fruit flies that cause enormous agricultural damage. It exposes the present knowledge on the symbionts of the tephritids Ceratitis capitata (the Mediterranean fruit fly) and Bactrocera oleae (the Olive fly) and recapitulates recent advances in the improvement of the performance of massreared sterile males used in sterile insect technique to combat the medfly.

Transovarial Transmission of Rickettsia spp. and Organ-Specific Infection of the Whitefly Bemisia tabaci

“…5B and D) suggest a possible role in food digestion. Midgut-associated symbionts have been reported from many arthropods, such as the Mediterranean fruit fly, tsetse fly, silkworms, termites, and stinkbugs, among many others (46). The diversity of midgut microbes is enormous: they belong to various genera and exhibit different localization patterns, modes of transmission, and functional roles, depending on both the bacterium and the host (25,29).…”

“…In the past few years, however, their relevance has become a matter of interest, and accumulating data suggest that they can play a significant role in the biology of their hosts (56). To date, secondary symbionts have been reported to be involved in reproductive manipulations, host plant utilization, and the ability to cope with environmental factors such as response to heat stress and chemical insecticides (8,11,43,46,49,57,58). The reported localization patterns of secondary symbionts are diverse and vary within the host body.…”

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

“…They can be transmitted both vertically and horizontally [ 21 ]. Secondary symbionts have been reported to take part in reproductive manipulations, which may improve their own transmission and help the host to increase fitness under specific environmental conditions, such as responding to heat stress or chemical insecticides [ 22 – 26 ].…”