Bacterial phylogeny predicts volatile organic compound composition and olfactory response of an aphid parasitoid

There is increasing evidence that microorganisms emit a wide range of volatile compounds (mVOCs, microbial volatile organic compounds) that act as insect semiochemicals, and therefore play an important role in insect behaviour. Although it is generally believed that phylogenetically closely related microbes tend to have similar phenotypic characteristics and therefore may elicit similar responses in insects, currently little is known about whether the evolutionary history and phylogenetic relationships among microorganisms have an impact on insect-microbe interactions. In this study, we tested the hypothesis that phylogenetic relationships among 40Bacillusstrains isolated from diverse environmental sources predicted mVOC composition and the olfactory response of the generalist aphid parasitoidAphidius colemani. Results revealed that phylogenetically closely relatedBacillusstrains emitted similar blends of mVOCs and elicited a comparable olfactory response ofA. colemaniin Y-tube olfactometer bioassays, varying between attraction and repellence. Analysis of the chemical composition of the mVOC blends showed that allBacillusstrains produced a highly similar set of volatiles, but often in different concentrations and ratios. Benzaldehyde was produced in relatively high concentrations by strains that repelA. colemani, while attractive mVOC blends contained relatively higher amounts of acetoin, 2,3-butanediol, 2,3-butanedione, eucalyptol and isoamylamine. Overall, these results indicate that bacterial phylogeny had a strong impact on mVOC compositions and as a result on the olfactory responses of insects.