The influence of Acetobacter pomorum bacteria on the developmental progression of Drosophila suzukii via gluconic acid secretion.

Insects are rich in various microorganisms, which play diverse roles in affecting host biology. Although most Drosophila species prefer rotten fruits, the agricultural pest Drosophila suzukii attacks ripening fruits before they are harvested. We have reported that the microbiota has positive and negative impacts on the agricultural pest D. suzukii on nutrient-poor and -rich diets, respectively. On nutrient-poor diets, microbes provide protein to facilitate larval development. But how they impede D. suzukii development on nutrient-rich diets is unknown. Here we report that Acetobacter pomorum (Apo), a commensal bacterium in many Drosophila species and rotting fruit, has several detrimental effects in D. suzukii. Feeding D. suzukii larvae nutrient-rich diets containing live Apo significantly delayed larval development and reduced the body weight of emerged adults. Apo induced larval immune responses and downregulated genes of digestion and juvenile hormone metabolism. Knockdown of these genes in germ-free larvae reproduced Apo-like weakened phenotypes. Apo was confirmed to secrete substantial amounts of gluconic acid. Adding gluconic acid to the D. suzukii larval diet hindered larval growth and decreased adult body weight. Moreover, the dose of gluconic acid that adversely affected D. suzukii did not negatively affect Drosophila melanogaster, suggesting that D. suzukii is less tolerant to acid than D. melanogaster. Taken together, these findings indicate that D. suzukii is negatively affected by gluconic acid, which may explain why it prefers ripening fruit over Apo-rich rotting fruit. These results show an insect's tolerance to microbes can influence its ecological niche.

A conserved protein disulfide isomerase enhances plant resistance against herbivores.

Herbivore-associated molecular patterns (HAMPs) enable plants to recognize herbivores and may help plants adjust their defense responses. Here, we report on herbivore-induced changes in a protein disulfide isomerase (PDI) widely distributed across arthropods. PDI from the spider mite Tetranychus evansi (TePDI), a mesophyll-feeding agricultural pest worldwide, triggered immunity in multiple Solanaceae plants. TePDI-mediated cell death in Nicotiana benthamiana required the plant signaling proteins SGT1 (suppressor of the G2 allele of skp1) and HSP90 (heat shock protein 90), but was suppressed by spider mite effectors Te28 and Te84. Moreover, PDIs from phylogenetically distinct herbivorous and nonherbivorous arthropods triggered plant immunity. Finally, although PDI-induced plant defenses impaired the performance of spider mites on plants, RNAi experiments revealed that PDI genes are essential for the survival of mites and whiteflies. Our findings indicate that plants recognize evolutionarily conserved HAMPs to activate plant defense and resist pest damage, pointing to opportunities for broad-spectrum pest management.

Environmental Factors and the Symbiont Cardinium Influence the Bacterial Microbiome of Spider Mites Across the Landscape.

Microbes play a key role in the biology, ecology, and evolution of arthropods. Despite accumulating data on microbial communities in arthropods that feed on plants using piercing-sucking mouthparts, we still lack a comprehensive understanding of the composition and assembly factors of the microbiota, particularly in field-collected spider mites. Here, we applied 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing to investigate the characters of the bacterial community in 140 samples representing 420 mite individuals, belonging to eight Tetranychus species (Acari: Tetranychidae) collected from 26 sites in China. The results showed that the bacterial composition of spider mites varied significantly among different species, locations, and plants. The environment showed a significant influence on the bacterial community of spider mites, with different relative contributions. Latitude and precipitation were found to be the main factors influencing the bacterial community composition. The dissimilarity of bacterial community and geographical distance between mite locations were significantly correlated. The assembly of spider mite bacterial communities seemed to be mainly influenced by stochastic processes. Furthermore, the symbiont Cardinium was found to be important in shaping the microbiota of many Tetranychus species. The relative abundance of Cardinium was > 50% in T. viennensis, T. urticae G, T. urticae R, and T. turkestani. Removing Cardinium reads from our analysis significantly changed Shannon diversity index and weighted beta diversity in these species. Altogether, this study provides novel insights into bacterial diversity patterns that contribute to our knowledge of the symbiotic relationships between arthropods and their bacterial communities.

Wolbachia and Spiroplasma could influence bacterial communities of the spider mite Tetranychus truncatus.

The structures of arthropod bacterial communities are complex. These microbiotas usually provide many beneficial services to their hosts, whereas occasionally they may be parasitical. To date, little is known about the bacterial communities of Tetranychus truncatus and the factors contributing to the structure of its bacterial communities are unexplored yet. Here, we used four symbiont-infected T. truncatus strains-including one Wolbachia and Spiroplasma co-infected strain, two symbiont singly-infected strains and one symbiont uninfected strain-to investigate the influence of endosymbionts on the structure of the host mites' microbiota. Based on 16S rRNA genes sequencing analysis, we found Wolbachia and Spiroplasma were the two most abundant bacteria in T. truncatus and the presence of both symbionts could not change the diversity of bacterial communities (based on alpha-diversity indexes such as ACE, Chao1, Shannon and Simpson diversity index). Symbiont infection did alter the abundance of many other bacterial genera, such as Megamonas and Bacteroides. The structures of bacterial communities differed significantly among symbiont-infected strains. These results suggested a prominent effect of Wolbachia and Spiroplasma on bacterial communities of the host T. truncatus. These findings advance our understanding of T. truncatus microbiota and will be helpful for further study on bacterial communities of spider mites.

Bacterial reproductive manipulators in rice planthoppers.

Rice planthoppers (Hemiptera: Delphacidae) are notorious pests for rice (Oryza sativa) in Asia, posing a serious threat to rice production and grain security. Rice planthoppers harbor diverse bacterial symbionts, including Wolbachia, Cardinium, Spiroplasma, and Arsenophonus, which are known to manipulate reproduction in arthropod hosts. This microreview is to introduce current knowledge of bacterial reproductive manipulators in rice planthoppers, including their diversity, population dynamics, localization, transmission, and biological functions.

Differential responses of the whitefly Bemisia tabaci symbionts to unfavorable low and high temperatures.

The whitefly Bemisia tabaci complex contains many cryptic species, of which the Middle East-Asia Minor 1 (MEAM1) and Mediterranean (MED) are notorious invasive pests. In our field-collected whitefly samples, MEAM1 harbors an obligate primary symbiont "Candidatus Portiera aleyrodidarum" and two secondary symbionts, "Candidatus Hamiltonella defensa" and Rickettsia sp., whereas MED has only "Ca. Portiera aleyrodidarum" and "Ca. Hamiltonella defensa." Both "Ca. Portiera aleyrodidarum" and "Ca. Hamiltonella defensa" are intracellular endosymbionts residing in the bacteriomes, whereas Rickettsia sp. has a scattered distribution throughout the host body cavity. We examined responses of these symbionts to adverse temperatures as well as survival of the host insects. After cold treatment at 5 or 10 °C or heat treatment at 35 or 40 °C for 24 h, respectively, the infection rates of all symbionts were not significantly decreased based on diagnosis PCR. However, quantitative PCR assays indicated significant reduction of "Ca. Hamiltonella defensa" at 40 °C, and the reduction became greater as the duration increased. Compared with "Ca. Hamiltonella defensa," "Ca. Portiera aleyrodidarum" was initially less affected in the first day but then showed more rapid reduction at days 3-5. The density of Rickettsia sp. fluctuated but was not reduced significantly at 40 °C. Meanwhile, the mortality rates of the host whiteflies elevated rapidly as the duration of exposure to heat treatment increased. The differential responses of various symbionts to adverse temperatures imply complex interactions among the symbionts inside the same host insect and highlight the importance of taking the whole bacterial community into account in studies of symbioses.

Molecular characterization of soluble and membrane-bound trehalases of the whitefly, Bemisia tabaci.

Trehalases (Tres) have been demonstrated to be the key enzymes that are involved in various trehalose-associated physiological processes in insects. However, little attention has been devoted to the Tres in the whitefly, Bemisia tabaci. In this study, a soluble Tre (BtTre-1) and a membrane-bound Tre (BtTre-2) were cloned in the invasive cryptic species Middle East-Asia Minor 1 (MEAM1) of the whitefly B. tabaci complex. Alignment of deduced amino acids sequences of both BtTres revealed that they share common consensus regions and residues with Tres of other insect species. Levels of BtTres expression in various stages and tissues of the whitefly suggested that BtTre-2 may play a key role in trehalose catabolism during development of the whitefly, especially for oocyte development, while BtTre-1 may prevent trehalose in salivary gland from leaking and entering into plants along with saliva. Potential roles of trehalose catabolism in response to direct and/or plant-mediated indirect effects of Tomato Yellow Leaf Curl China Virus (TYLCCNV) were also detected. Whiteflies feeding on virus-infected tobacco plants showed higher BtTres expressions and accordingly higher BtTres activity but lower trehalose content than those feeding on uninfected plants. The enhanced trehalose catabolism may be beneficial to oocyte development in ovary and attenuate plant defensive responses induced by trehalose in saliva. Viruliferous and nonviruliferous whiteflies feeding on cotton, a nonhost plant for TYLCCNV, differed significantly only in trehalose content. The higher trehalose content in viruliferous whiteflies may be conducive to resisting the stress inflicted by TYLCCNV.

The symbiont Wolbachia alleviates pesticide susceptibility in the two-spotted spider mite Tetranychus urticae through enhanced host detoxification pathways.

The two-spotted spider mite (Tetranychus urticae) is one of the most well-known pesticide-resistant agricultural pests, with resistance often attributed to changes such as target-site mutations and detoxification activation. Recent studies show that pesticide resistance can also be influenced by symbionts, but their involvement in this process in spider mites remains uncertain. Here, we found that infection with Wolbachia, a well-known bacterial reproductive manipulator, significantly increased mite survival after exposure to the insecticides abamectin, cyflumetofen, and pyridaben. Wolbachia-infected (WI) mites showed higher expression of detoxification genes such as P450, glutathione-S-transferase (GST), ABC transporters, and carboxyl/cholinesterases. RNA interference experiments confirmed the role of the two above-mentioned detoxification genes, TuCYP392D2 and TuGSTd05, in pesticide resistance. Increased GST activities were also observed in abamectin-treated WI mites. In addition, when wild populations were treated with abamectin, WI mites generally showed better survival than uninfected mites. However, genetically homogeneous mites with different Wolbachia strains showed similar survival. Finally, abamectin treatment increased Wolbachia abundance without altering the mite's bacterial community. This finding highlights the role of Wolbachia in orchestrating pesticide resistance by modulating host detoxification. By unraveling the intricate interplay between symbionts and pesticide resistance, our study lays the groundwork for pioneering strategies to combat agricultural pests.

Characterization of a newly discovered symbiont of the whitefly Bemisia tabaci (Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae).

Bemisia tabaci (Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae) is a species complex containing >28 cryptic species, some of which are important crop pests worldwide. Like many other sap-sucking insects, whiteflies harbor an obligatory symbiont, "Candidatus Portiera aleyrodidarum," and a number of secondary symbionts. So far, six genera of secondary symbionts have been identified in B. tabaci. In this study, we report and describe the finding of an additional bacterium in the indigenous B. tabaci cryptic species China 1 (formerly known as B. tabaci biotype ZHJ3). Phylogenetic analysis based on the 16S rRNA and gltA genes showed that the bacterium belongs to the Alphaproteobacteria subdivision of the Proteobacteria and has a close relationship with human pathogens of the genus Orientia. Consequently, we temporarily named it Orientia-like organism (OLO). OLO was found in six of eight wild populations of B. tabaci China 1, with the infection rate ranging from 46.2% to 76.8%. Fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) of B. tabaci China 1 in nymphs and adults revealed that OLOs are confined to the bacteriome and co-occur with "Ca. Portiera aleyrodidarum." The vertical transmission of OLO was demonstrated by detection of OLO at the anterior pole end of the oocytes through FISH. Quantitative PCR analysis of population dynamics suggested a complex interaction between "Ca. Portiera aleyrodidarum" and OLO. Based on these results, we propose "Candidatus Hemipteriphilus asiaticus" for the classification of this symbiont from B. tabaci.

Rop plays conserved roles in the reproductive and digestive processes of spider mites.

Ras opposite (Rop) is known to play an essential role in regulating vesicle trafficking, including synaptic transmission and general secretion. The fundamental roles of Rop have been confirmed by the observation that null mutations in many organisms generate lethal phenotypes during embryogenesis. However, the effects of Rop during the postembryonic stages, especially in non-model organisms, remain largely unknown. Here, we provide new data that enhance our understanding of Rop's roles in the adults of multiple species of Tetranychus spider mites (Acari: Tetranychidae), a class of notorious agricultural pests. Our in silico and experimental evidence demonstrated that Rop is under purifying selection and is highly conserved in Tetranychus spp. RNA interference experiments showed that Rop is required for maintaining normal fecundity but has no significant effect on survival. We further demonstrate that knockdown of Rop darkens the body color of spider mites and blocks the excretion of fecal pellets, which is likely to be related to an abnormality in the excretion of food waste in the digestive system. Overall, our findings clarify novel functions of a vesicle trafficking-related gene in the adult stage of multiple Tetranychus species and highlight the need to evaluate the roles of essential genes in various organisms.

NDUFA8 potentially rescues Wolbachia-induced cytoplasmic incompatibility in Laodelphax striatellus.

The endosymbiont Wolbachia manipulates host reproduction by several strategies, one of the most important of which is cytoplasmic incompatibility (CI). CI can be rescued when Wolbachia-infected males mate with females infected with the same Wolbachia strain. However, the potential rescue mechanism of CI in the small brown planthopper Laodelphax striatellus is unclear. In this study, comparative transcriptome analysis was applied to explore the effect of Wolbachia on L. striatellus eggs. A total of 1387 differentially expressed genes were identified. RNA interference of 7 Wolbachia-upregulated key planthopper genes reduced egg reproduction, suggesting that Wolbachia might improve fecundity in L. striatellus by affecting these 7 genes. Suppressing the expression of another upregulated gene, NDUFA8 (encoding NADH dehydrogenase [ubiquinone] 1 α subcomplex subunit 8-like) by RNA interference significantly increased the mortality of early embryos without affecting the number of deposited eggs. Wolbachia infection upregulated the mRNA level of NDUFA8, and dsNDUFA8 treatment of Wolbachia-infected females recreated CI-like symptoms, suggesting that NDUFA8 is associated with the rescue phenotype. Because all L. striatellus populations worldwide are infected with Wolbachia, NDUFA8 is a potential pest control target.

Wolbachia manipulates reproduction of spider mites by influencing herbivore salivary proteins.

BACKGROUND: The endosymbiont Wolbachia is known for manipulating host reproduction. Wolbachia also can affect host fitness by mediating interactions between plant and herbivores. However, it remains unclear whether saliva proteins are involved in this process. RESULTS: We found that Wolbachia infection decreased the number of deposited eggs but increased the egg hatching rate in the spider mite Tetranychus urticae Koch (Acari: Tetranychidae), a cosmopolitan pest that infects >1000 species of plants. Transcriptomic and proteomic analyses revealed that Wolbachia-infected mites upregulated the gene expression levels of many T. urticae salivary proteins including a cluster of Tetranychidae-specific, functionally uncharacterized SHOT1s (secreted host-responsive proteins of Tetranychidae). The SHOT1 genes were expressed more in the feeding stages (nymphs and adults) of mites than in eggs and highly enriched in the proterosomas. RNA interference experiments showed that knockdown of SHOT1s significantly decreased Wolbachia density, increased the number of deposited eggs and decreased the egg hatching rate. CONCLUSION: Together, these results indicate that SHOT1s are positively correlated with Wolbachia density and account for Wolbachia-mediated phenotypes. Our results provide new evidence that herbivore salivary proteins are related to Wolbachia-mediated manipulations of host performance on plants. © 2022 Society of Chemical Industry.

Draft genome sequence of "Candidatus Hamiltonella defensa," an endosymbiont of the whitefly Bemisia tabaci.

"Candidatus Hamiltonella defensa" is a facultative endosymbiont of the whitefly Bemisia tabaci. Herein, we report the first draft genome sequence of "Candidatus Hamiltonella defensa" from the invasive Mediterranean cryptic species of the B. tabaci complex. The 1.84-Mbp genome sequence comprises 404 contigs and contains 1,806 predicted protein-coding genes.

A transcriptomic atlas of Aedes aegypti reveals detailed functional organization of major body parts and gut regional specializations in sugar-fed and blood-fed adult females.

Mosquitoes transmit numerous pathogens, but large gaps remain in our understanding of their physiology. To facilitate explorations of mosquito biology, we have created Aegypti-Atlas (http://aegyptiatlas.buchonlab.com/), an online resource hosting RNAseq profiles of Ae. aegypti body parts (head, thorax, abdomen, gut, Malpighian tubules, ovaries), gut regions (crop, proventriculus, anterior and posterior midgut, hindgut), and a gut time course of blood meal digestion. Using Aegypti-Atlas, we provide insights into regionalization of gut function, blood feeding response, and immune defenses. We find that the anterior and posterior midgut possess digestive specializations which are preserved in the blood-fed state. Blood feeding initiates the sequential induction and repression/depletion of multiple cohorts of peptidases. With respect to defense, immune signaling components, but not recognition or effector molecules, show enrichment in ovaries. Basal expression of antimicrobial peptides is dominated by holotricin and gambicin, which are expressed in carcass and digestive tissues, respectively, in a mutually exclusive manner. In the midgut, gambicin and other effectors are almost exclusively expressed in the anterior regions, while the posterior midgut exhibits hallmarks of immune tolerance. Finally, in a cross-species comparison between Ae. aegypti and Anopheles gambiae midguts, we observe that regional digestive and immune specializations are conserved, indicating that our dataset may be broadly relevant to multiple mosquito species. We demonstrate that the expression of orthologous genes is highly correlated, with the exception of a 'species signature' comprising a few highly/disparately expressed genes. With this work, we show the potential of Aegypti-Atlas to unlock a more complete understanding of mosquito biology.

Microbes affect gut epithelial cell composition through immune-dependent regulation of intestinal stem cell differentiation.

Gut microbes play important roles in host physiology; however, the mechanisms underlying their impact remain poorly characterized. Here, we demonstrate that microbes not only influence gut physiology but also alter its epithelial composition. The microbiota and pathogens both influence intestinal stem cell (ISC) differentiation. Intriguingly, while the microbiota promotes ISC differentiation into enterocytes (EC), pathogens stimulate enteroendocrine cell (EE) fate and long-term accumulation of EEs in the midgut epithelium. Importantly, the evolutionarily conserved Drosophila NFKB (Relish) pushes stem cell lineage specification toward ECs by directly regulating differentiation factors. Conversely, the JAK-STAT pathway promotes EE fate in response to infectious damage. We propose a model in which the balance of microbial pattern recognition pathways, such as Imd-Relish, and damage response pathways, such as JAK-STAT, influence ISC differentiation, epithelial composition, and gut physiology.

Endosymbionts Reduce Microbiome Diversity and Modify Host Metabolism and Fecundity in the Planthopper Sogatella furcifera.

Endosymbionts can strongly affect bacterial microbiota in pests. The white-backed planthopper Sogatella furcifera, a notorious pest in rice, is usually co-infected with Cardinium and Wolbachia, but the effects of these endosymbionts together or individually on the host microbiome and fecundity are unclear. Here, we established three S. furcifera lines (Cardinium and Wolbachia double-infected, Cardinium single-infected, and both-uninfected lines) backcrossed to a common nuclear background and found that single and double infections reduced bacterial diversity and changed bacterial community structure across nymph and adult stages and across adult tissues. The endosymbionts differed in densities between adults and nymphs as well as across adult tissues, with the distribution of Cardinium affected by Wolbachia. Both the single infection and particularly the double infection reduced host fecundity. Lines also differed in levels of metabolites, some of which may influence fecundity (e.g., arginine biosynthesis and nicotinamide metabolism). Cardinium in the single-infected line upregulated metabolic levels, while Wolbachia in the double-infected line appeared to mainly downregulate them. Association analysis pointed to possible connections between various bacteria and differential metabolites. These results reveal that Cardinium by itself and in combination with Wolbachia affect bacterial microbiota and levels of metabolites, with likely effects on host fecundity. Many of the effects of these metabolically limited endosymbionts that are dependent on the hosts may be exerted through manipulation of the microbiome. IMPORTANCE Endosymbionts can profoundly affect the nutrition, immunity, development, and reproduction of insect hosts, but the effects of multiple endosymbiont infections on microbiota and the interaction of these effects with insect host fitness are not well known. By establishing S. furcifera lines with different endosymbiont infection status, we found that Cardinium and the combined Cardinium + Wolbachia infections differentially reduced bacterial diversity as well as changing bacterial community structure and affecting metabolism, which may connect to negative fitness effects of the endosymbionts on their host. These results established the connections between reduced bacterial diversity, decreased fecundity and metabolic responses in S. furcifera.

Characterization of Pantoea ananatis from rice planthoppers reveals a clade of rice-associated P. ananatis undergoing genome reduction.

Pantoea ananatis is a bacterium that is found in many agronomic crops and agricultural pests. Here, we isolated a P. ananatis strain (Lstr) from the rice planthopper Laodelphax striatellus, a notorious pest that feeds on rice plant sap and transmits rice viruses, in order to examine its genome and biology. P. ananatis Lstr is an insect symbiont that is pathogenic to the host insect and appears to mostly inhabit the gut. Its pathogenicity thus raises the possibility of using the Lstr strain as a biological agent. To this end, we analysed the genome of the Lstr strain and compared it with the genomes of other Pantoea species. Our analysis of these genomes shows that P. ananatis can be divided into two mono-phylogenetic clades (clades one and two). The Lstr strain belongs to clade two and is grouped with P. ananatis strains that were isolated from rice or rice-associated samples. A comparative genomic analysis shows that clade two differs from clade one in many genomic characteristics including genome structures, mobile elements, and categories of coding proteins. The genomes of clade two P. ananatis are significantly smaller, have much fewer coding sequences but more pseudogenes than those of clade one, suggesting that clade two species are at the early stage of genome reduction. On the other hand, P. ananatis has a type VI secretion system that is highly variable but cannot be separated by clades. These results clarify our understanding of P. ananatis' phylogenetic diversity and provide clues to the interactions between P. ananatis, host insect, and plant that may lead to advances in rice protection and pest control.

Identification of natural pathogens from wild Drosophila suzukii.

BACKGROUND: Drosophila suzukii (Matsumura, 1931) (spotted wing drosophila), an invasive species, has recently become a significant global pest of soft-skinned fruits such as berries. Unlike other Drosophila species, female D. suzukii have evolved a specialized sharp, serrated ovipositor that pierces and penetrates ripe and ripening fruits, causing them to lose commercial value and preventing their sale. A first step for the development of biological control agents for pest management may be achieved through the identification of microbes infectious for D. suzukii in the wild. RESULTS: We first determined that D. suzukii is susceptible to chemicals commonly used to rear Drosophilids in the laboratory and established a diet able to sustain healthy D. suzukii growth. Using this diet, we demonstrated that of 25 species of culturable bacteria and fungi isolated from field-collected D. suzukii, eight microbes decreased host survival when injected. Three of the eight bacteria (Alcaligenes faecalis, Achromobacter spanius and Serratia marcescens) were acutely pathogenic to both D. suzukii and Drosophila melanogaster adults by injection. Feeding of these bacteria resulted in susceptibility only in larvae. CONCLUSION: We successfully identified multiple microbes from field-collected D. suzukii that are pathogenic to both larvae and adults through different routes of infection, some of which could be candidates for biocontrol of this species. © 2020 Society of Chemical Industry.

Genomic Analysis of Wolbachia from Laodelphax striatellus (Delphacidae, Hemiptera) Reveals Insights into Its "Jekyll and Hyde" Mode of Infection Pattern.

Wolbachia is a widely distributed intracellular bacterial endosymbiont among invertebrates. The wStriCN, the Wolbachia strain that naturally infects an agricultural pest Laodelphax striatellus, has a "Jekyll and Hyde" mode of infection pattern with positive and negative effects: It not only kills many offspring by inducing cytoplasmic incompatibility (CI) but also significantly increases host fecundity. In this study, we assembled the draft genome of wStriCN and compared it with other Wolbachia genomes to look for clues to its Jekyll and Hyde characteristics. The assembled wStriCN draft genome is 1.79 Mb in size, which is the largest Wolbachia genome in supergroup B. Phylogenomic analysis showed that wStriCN is closest to Wolbachia from Asian citrus psyllid Diaphorina citri. These strains formed a monophylogentic clade within supergroup B. Compared with other Wolbachia genomes, wStriCN contains the most diverse insertion sequence families, the largest amount of prophage sequences, and the most ankyrin domain protein coding genes. The wStriCN genome encodes components of multiple secretion systems, including Types I, II, IV, VI, Sec, and Tac. We detected three pairs of homologs for CI factors CifA and CifB. These proteins harbor the catalytic domains responsible for CI phenotypes but are phylogenetically and structurally distinct from all known Cif proteins. The genome retains pathways for synthesizing biotin and riboflavin, which may explain the beneficial roles of wStriCN in its host planthoppers, which feed on nutrient-poor plant sap. Altogether, the genomic sequencing of wStriCN provides insight into understanding the phylogeny and biology of Wolbachia.

Similarities and spatial variations of bacterial and fungal communities in field rice planthopper (Hemiptera: Delphacidae) populations.

Rice planthoppers are notorious plant sap-feeding pests which cause serious damage. While several microbes in rice planthoppers have been broadly characterized, the abundance and diversity of bacteria and fungi in field planthoppers are largely unknown. This study investigated the bacterial and fungal community compositions of Chinese wild rice planthoppers Laodelphax striatellus and Sogatella furcifera using parallel 16S rRNA gene amplicon and internal transcribed space region sequencing. The bacteria varied significantly between the species and were partitioned significantly by sex, tissues and host environments in each species. The majority of bacteria were affiliated with the genera Wolbachia, Cardinium, Rickettsia and Pantoea. The abundance of Wolbachia was negatively correlated with that of Cardinium in both planthopper species. Compared with bacteria, the abundance and diversity of fungi did not differ between sexes but both were enriched in the gut. The bacterial community as a whole showed no significant correlation with the fungal community. The majority of fungi were related to Sarocladium, Alternaria, Malassezia, Aspergillus and Curvularia. A phylogenetic analysis revealed that these fungi were closely related to botanic symbionts or pathogens. Our results provide novel insights into the bacteria and fungi of rice planthoppers.