Journal
ENVIRONMENTAL MICROBIOLOGY
Volume 24, Issue 10, Pages 4771-4786Publisher
WILEY
DOI: 10.1111/1462-2920.16138
Keywords
-
Categories
Funding
- Associazione Produttori Ortofrutticoli Trentini
- Autonomous Province of Bozen/Bolzano
- Autonomous Province of Trento
- South Tyrolean Apple Consortium
Ask authors/readers for more resources
Phytoplasmas, intracellular bacteria that cause plant diseases, are primarily transmitted by hemipteran vectors. This study investigates the role of microbiomes in the vector capacity of apple proliferation (AP) phytoplasma. The microbiomes of vector and non-vector species were characterized, revealing differences driven by predominant symbionts. Infection with AP-phytoplasma did not affect the microbiome composition in vector species. This study emphasizes the importance of considering the microbiome when investigating factors influencing host vector competence.
Phytoplasmas are obligatory intracellular bacteria that colonize the phloem of many plant species and cause hundreds of plant diseases worldwide. In nature, phytoplasmas are primarily transmitted by hemipteran vectors. While all phloem-feeding insects could in principle transmit phytoplasmas, only a limited number of species have been confirmed as vectors. Knowledge about factors that might determine the vector capacity is currently scarce. Here, we characterized the microbiomes of vector and non-vector species of apple proliferation (AP) phytoplasma 'Candidatus Phytoplasma mali' to investigate their potential role in the vector capacity of the host. We performed high-throughput 16S rRNA metabarcoding of the two principal AP-vectors Cacopsylla picta and Cacopsylla melanoneura and eight Cacopsylla species, which are not AP-vectors but co-occur in apple orchards. The microbiomes of all species are dominated by Carsonella, the primary endosymbiont of psyllids and a second uncharacterized Enterobacteriaceae endosymbiont. Each Cacopsylla species harboured a species-specific phylotype of both symbionts. Moreover, we investigated differences between the microbiomes of AP-vector versus non-vector species and identified the predominant endosymbionts but also Wolbachia and several minor taxa as potential indicator species. Our study highlights the importance of considering the microbiome in future investigations of potential factors influencing host vector competence. We investigated the potential role of symbiotic bacteria in the acquisition and transmission of phytoplasma. By comparing the two main psyillid vector species of Apple proliferation (AP) phytoplasma and eight co-occurring species, which are not able to vector AP-phytoplasma, we found differences in the microbial communities of AP-vector and non-vector species, which appear to be driven by the predominant symbionts in both vector species and Wolbachia and several minor taxa in the non-vector species. In contrast, infection with AP-phytoplasma did not affect microbiome composition in both vector species. Our study provides new insights into the endosymbiont diversity of Cacopsylla spp. and highlights the importance of considering the microbiome when investigating potential factors influencing host vector competence.
Authors
I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.
Reviews
Recommended
No Data Available