Symbiotic bacteria in the relationship between Anaphes nitens (Hymenoptera: Mymaridae) and Gonipterus platensis (Coleoptera: Curculionidae)

Abstract

The egg parasitoid Anaphes nitens (Hymenoptera: Mymaridae) parasitizes the Eucalyptus snout‐beetle Gonipterus platensis (Coleoptera: Curculionidae), one of the main defoliating beetles of Eucalyptus. Outbreaks of this pest are being recorded in areas with low parasitism rates by A. nitens. Endosymbiont bacteria can affect the reproductive characteristics of host insects increasing or decreasing the parasitism rate. The objectives of this study were to identify the presence, phylogeny and transmission modes of endosymbiont bacteria in A. nitens and G. platensis. Six populations of A. nitens and one of G. platensis were evaluated. Genomic DNA from these populations was extracted and nine genera of cell endosymbionts were searched by PCR. Three species of the Enterobacteriaceae family, Erwinia amylovora, Serratia grimesii, Yersinia massiliensis and the cell endosymbiont Rickettsia belli were identified in all A. nitens populations. Only Serratia grimesii was found in G. platensis. The presence of E. amylovora, Y. massiliensis and R. belli in the F1 and F2 generations indicates vertical transmission in A. nitens, while S. grimesii is vertically transmitted in G. platensis.

First detection of Gonipterus platensis (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) and its parasitoid Anaphes nitens (Hymenoptera: Mymaridae) in eucalyptus plantations in Minas Gerais, Brazil

“…The main management strategy for G. platensis is biological control with the egg parasitoid Anaphes nitens Girault (Hymenoptera: Mymaridae) (Schröder et al, 2020). This parasitoid was introduced and established in all regions of Brazil where this pest occurs (Ribeiro et al, 2023).…”

“…The egg capsules of G. platensis collected were parasitized by A. nitens, confirming the joint dispersal of G. platensis and its natural enemy. However, outbreaks of this pest indicate the need to include other natural enemies along with A. nitens (Ribeiro et al, 2023), such as the native predatory stinkbug Podisus nigrispinus Dallas (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae) (Nascimento et al, 2017) to manage this pest. Commercial products using entomopathogenic fungi such as Beauveria bassiana (Jordan et al, 2021) have been registered at the Brazilian Ministry of Agriculture and entomopathogenic nematodes have been studied in the laboratory to manage this pest (Damascena et al, 2020) Exotic pests such as Glycaspis brimblecombei Moore (Hemiptera: Aphalaridae), Leptocybe invasa Fisher and LaSalle (Hymenoptera: Eulophidae) and Thaumastocoris peregrinus Carpintero and Dellapé (Hemiptera: Thaumastocoridae) already reduce productivity of eucalyptus plantations in the Minas Gerais state (Wilcken et al, 2010), where the establishment of G. platensis is a cause of concern.…”

Diferenças entre espécies de besouros do gênero Gonipterus (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) de diferentes estados do Brasil

“…O controle biológico é a principal estratégia de manejo de Gonipterus spp., principalmente com o parasitoide de ovos A. nitens (Jordan et al 2021a). Esse parasitoide pode reduzir as perdas por esse inseto, mas sua menor eficiência em determinadas regiões tem sido atribuída à fatores como a altitude, incompatibilidade parasitoide-hospedeiro e a bactérias endossimbiontes (Damascena et al, 2020;Ribeiro et al, 2023a).…”