Relations of Wolbachia Infection with Phylogeography of Philaenus spumarius (Hemiptera: Aphrophoridae) Populations Within and Beyond the Carpathian Contact Zone
Abstract:Wolbachia is the most widespread intracellular α-proteobacteria maternally inherited endosymbiont of insects and nematodes. These bacteria are associated with a number of different reproductive phenotypes of their hosts. Relatively few studies have dealt with distribution of infections across populations and with the influence of these bacteria on host genetic diversification and speciation. The aims of this study are to determine the distribution and rate of infection and to characterize the Wolbachia strains… Show more
“…Overall, the male proportion was significantly higher in Apulia than in Liguria. A different prevalence of the sex-manipulating proteobacteria Wolbachia in the spittlebug populations of the two Regions might account for the local sex ratio differences 63 .Figure 6Sex ratio of Philaenus spumarius adults as the proportion of males sampled in Apulia and Liguria olive groves during 2016, 2017, (2018). Black dots (●) represent coastal olive groves and grey triangles inland olive groves.…”
Spittlebugs (Hemiptera: Aphrophoridae) are the dominant xylem-sap feeders in the Mediterranean area and the only proven vectors of Xylella fastidiosa ST53, the causal agent of the olive dieback epidemic in Apulia, Italy. We have investigated the structured population phenology, abundance and seasonal movement between crops and wild plant species of both the nymphal and adult stages of different spittlebug species in olive groves. Field surveys were conducted during the 2016–2018 period in four olive orchards located in coastal and inland areas in the Apulia and Liguria regions in Italy. The nymphal population in the herbaceous cover was estimated using quadrat samplings. Adults were collected through sweep nets on three different vegetational components: herbaceous cover, olive canopy and wild woody plants. Philaenus spumarius was the most abundant species; its nymphs were collected from early March and reached a peak around mid-April, when the 4th instar was prevalent. Spittlebug adults were collected from late April until late autumn. P. spumarius adults were abundant on the herbaceous cover and olive trees in late spring, and they then dispersed to wild woody hosts during the summer and returned to the olive groves in autumn when searching for oviposition sites in the herbaceous cover. A relatively high abundance of P. spumarius was observed on olive trees during summer in the Liguria Region. The present work provides a large amount of data on the life cycle of spittlebugs within an olive agroecosystem that can be used to design effective control programmes against these vectors in infected areas and to assess the risk of the establishment and spread of X. fastidiosa to Xylella-free areas.
“…Overall, the male proportion was significantly higher in Apulia than in Liguria. A different prevalence of the sex-manipulating proteobacteria Wolbachia in the spittlebug populations of the two Regions might account for the local sex ratio differences 63 .Figure 6Sex ratio of Philaenus spumarius adults as the proportion of males sampled in Apulia and Liguria olive groves during 2016, 2017, (2018). Black dots (●) represent coastal olive groves and grey triangles inland olive groves.…”
Spittlebugs (Hemiptera: Aphrophoridae) are the dominant xylem-sap feeders in the Mediterranean area and the only proven vectors of Xylella fastidiosa ST53, the causal agent of the olive dieback epidemic in Apulia, Italy. We have investigated the structured population phenology, abundance and seasonal movement between crops and wild plant species of both the nymphal and adult stages of different spittlebug species in olive groves. Field surveys were conducted during the 2016–2018 period in four olive orchards located in coastal and inland areas in the Apulia and Liguria regions in Italy. The nymphal population in the herbaceous cover was estimated using quadrat samplings. Adults were collected through sweep nets on three different vegetational components: herbaceous cover, olive canopy and wild woody plants. Philaenus spumarius was the most abundant species; its nymphs were collected from early March and reached a peak around mid-April, when the 4th instar was prevalent. Spittlebug adults were collected from late April until late autumn. P. spumarius adults were abundant on the herbaceous cover and olive trees in late spring, and they then dispersed to wild woody hosts during the summer and returned to the olive groves in autumn when searching for oviposition sites in the herbaceous cover. A relatively high abundance of P. spumarius was observed on olive trees during summer in the Liguria Region. The present work provides a large amount of data on the life cycle of spittlebugs within an olive agroecosystem that can be used to design effective control programmes against these vectors in infected areas and to assess the risk of the establishment and spread of X. fastidiosa to Xylella-free areas.
“…Various phenomena can generate distinct lineages within DNA barcode data, e.g., phylogeographic processes ( Andersen et al, 2000 ; Damgaard, 2005 , 2008b ; Ye et al, 2016 ), the presence of maternally inherited endosymbionts as Wolbachia ( Lis, Maryańska-Nadachowska & Kajtoch, 2015 ), or the existence of cryptic species ( Paterson et al, 2016 ; Jiu et al, 2017 ). In this context we found 11 species with intraspecific K2P distances >2.2%, ranging from 2.32% ( Mesovelia vittigera Horváth, 1895) to a maximum of 9.44 ( C. coleoptrata ( Fabricius, 1777 )).…”
With about 5,000 species worldwide, the Heteroptera or true bugs are the most diverse taxon among the hemimetabolous insects in aquatic and semi-aquatic ecosystems. Species may be found in almost every freshwater environment and have very specific habitat requirements, making them excellent bioindicator organisms for water quality. However, a correct determination by morphology is challenging in many species groups due to high morphological variability and polymorphisms within, but low variability between species. Furthermore, it is very difficult or even impossible to identify the immature life stages or females of some species, e.g., of the corixid genus Sigara. In this study we tested the effectiveness of a DNA barcode library to discriminate species of the Gerromorpha and Nepomorpha of Germany. We analyzed about 700 specimens of 67 species, with 63 species sampled in Germany, covering more than 90% of all recorded species. Our library included various morphological similar taxa, e.g., species within the genera Sigara and Notonecta as well as water striders of the genus Gerris. Fifty-five species (82%) were unambiguously assigned to a single Barcode Index Number (BIN) by their barcode sequences, whereas BIN sharing was observed for 10 species. Furthermore, we found monophyletic lineages for 52 analyzed species. Our data revealed interspecific K2P distances with below 2.2% for 18 species. Intraspecific distances above 2.2% were shown for 11 species. We found evidence for hybridization between various corixid species (Sigara, Callicorixa), but our molecular data also revealed exceptionally high intraspecific distances as a consequence of distinct mitochondrial lineages for Cymatia coleoptrata and the pygmy backswimmer Plea minutissima. Our study clearly demonstrates the usefulness of DNA barcodes for the identification of the aquatic Heteroptera of Germany and adjacent regions. In this context, our data set represents an essential baseline for a reference library for bioassessment studies of freshwater habitats using modern high-throughput technologies in the near future. The existing data also opens new questions regarding the causes of observed low inter- and high intraspecific genetic variation and furthermore highlight the necessity of taxonomic revisions for various taxa, combining both molecular and morphological data.
“…One possibility is that factors other than aposematic selection reinforce the separation of populations. For example, Lis et al [40] suggest that the endosymbiont bacterium Wolbachia may play a role in maintaining genetic barriers at contact zones between mitochondrial linages of the spittlebug Philaenus spumarius in Eastern Europe. Likewise, in the absence of definitive genetic evidence to the contrary, it is possible that the lined and unlined Maine populations represent an undetected case of cryptic speciation.…”
Over most of its range populations of the spittlebugProsapia ignipectus(Fitch) (Hemiptera: Cercopidae) are monomorphic for black dorsal coloration. At the far northeastern margin of the species range in Maine, a cluster of populations is monomorphic for the presence of traverse orange dorsal lines against a black background. The narrow gap separating monomorphic black and monomorphic lined populations is less than 10 km wide, shows no evidence of a hybrid zone, and is without consequential physical barriers or ecological breaks. This sharp and unexpected division of color forms seems to have persisted for at least 90 years. It appears to be the sharpest divide ever recorded between geographically adjacent populations monomorphic for alternative aposematic color forms. About 45 kilometers to the southwest of this dividing line, three closely situated populations, surrounded by monomorphic black populations, are polymorphic for the two color forms. These observations are at variance with several expectations for aposematic species: (1) that local populations will be monomorphic for warning coloration, (2) that adjacent populations monomorphic for different local color forms will be linked by populations with mixed or hybrid forms, and (3) that geographic boundaries between contrasting aposematic color forms should be temporally unstable.
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