Symbiont Polyphyly, Co-Evolution, and Necessity in Pentatomid Stinkbugs from Costa Rica

Interdomain symbioses with bacteria allow insects to take advantage of underutilized niches and provide the foundation for their evolutionary success in neotropical ecosystems. The gut microbiota of 13 micro-allopatric tropical pentatomid species, from a Costa Rican lowland rainforest, was character...

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Main Authors: Kalia S.I. Bistolas, Reid I. Sakamoto, José A.M. Fernandes, Shana K Goffredi
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Frontiers Media S.A. 2014-07-01
Series:Frontiers in Microbiology
Subjects:
Online Access:http://journal.frontiersin.org/Journal/10.3389/fmicb.2014.00349/full
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author Kalia S.I. Bistolas
Reid I. Sakamoto
José A.M. Fernandes
Shana K Goffredi
author_facet Kalia S.I. Bistolas
Reid I. Sakamoto
José A.M. Fernandes
Shana K Goffredi
author_sort Kalia S.I. Bistolas
collection DOAJ
description Interdomain symbioses with bacteria allow insects to take advantage of underutilized niches and provide the foundation for their evolutionary success in neotropical ecosystems. The gut microbiota of 13 micro-allopatric tropical pentatomid species, from a Costa Rican lowland rainforest, was characterized and compared with insect and host plant phylogenies. Like other families within the Pentatomomorpha, these insects (within seven genera - Antiteuchus, Arvelius, Edessa, Euschistus, Loxa, Mormidea and Sibaria) house near-monocultures of gamma-proteobacteria in modified midgut crypts, comprising three distinct lineages within the family Enterobacteriaceae. Identity of the dominant bacteria (78-100% of the recovered 16S rRNA genes) was partially congruent with insect phylogeny, at the level of subfamily and tribe, with bacteria closely related to Erwinia observed in six species of the subfamily Pentatominae, and bacteria bacteria in a novel clade of Enterobacteriaceae for seven species within the subfamilies Edessinae and Discocephalinae. Symbiont replacement (i.e. bacterial ‘contamination’ from the environment) is probable due to modified maternal transmission by smearing of bacteria onto the egg surfaces during oviposition. This strategy was confirmed for Sibaria englemani, and suspected for four species from two subfamilies, based on observed probing of eggs by nymphs in captivity. Symbiont-deprived S. englemani, acquired via egg surface sterilization, exhibited significantly extended second stadia (9.1 days compared with 7.9 days for symbiotic nymphs; p=0.0001, Wilcoxon’s rank with Bonferroni correction), slower linearized growth rates (p=0.005, Welch 2-sample t-test), and observable differences in ceca morphology compared to symbiotic nymphs. Combined, these results suggest a role of the symbiont in host development, the reliable transference of symbionts via egg surfaces, and a degree of co-speciation between symbiont and tropical pentatomid host insects.
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spelling doaj.art-bf113da4ebd74d108bdc16d524bdd1582022-12-22T00:22:23ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Microbiology1664-302X2014-07-01510.3389/fmicb.2014.0034999233Symbiont Polyphyly, Co-Evolution, and Necessity in Pentatomid Stinkbugs from Costa RicaKalia S.I. Bistolas0Reid I. Sakamoto1José A.M. Fernandes2Shana K Goffredi3Occidental CollegeOccidental CollegeUniversidade Federal do ParáOccidental CollegeInterdomain symbioses with bacteria allow insects to take advantage of underutilized niches and provide the foundation for their evolutionary success in neotropical ecosystems. The gut microbiota of 13 micro-allopatric tropical pentatomid species, from a Costa Rican lowland rainforest, was characterized and compared with insect and host plant phylogenies. Like other families within the Pentatomomorpha, these insects (within seven genera - Antiteuchus, Arvelius, Edessa, Euschistus, Loxa, Mormidea and Sibaria) house near-monocultures of gamma-proteobacteria in modified midgut crypts, comprising three distinct lineages within the family Enterobacteriaceae. Identity of the dominant bacteria (78-100% of the recovered 16S rRNA genes) was partially congruent with insect phylogeny, at the level of subfamily and tribe, with bacteria closely related to Erwinia observed in six species of the subfamily Pentatominae, and bacteria bacteria in a novel clade of Enterobacteriaceae for seven species within the subfamilies Edessinae and Discocephalinae. Symbiont replacement (i.e. bacterial ‘contamination’ from the environment) is probable due to modified maternal transmission by smearing of bacteria onto the egg surfaces during oviposition. This strategy was confirmed for Sibaria englemani, and suspected for four species from two subfamilies, based on observed probing of eggs by nymphs in captivity. Symbiont-deprived S. englemani, acquired via egg surface sterilization, exhibited significantly extended second stadia (9.1 days compared with 7.9 days for symbiotic nymphs; p=0.0001, Wilcoxon’s rank with Bonferroni correction), slower linearized growth rates (p=0.005, Welch 2-sample t-test), and observable differences in ceca morphology compared to symbiotic nymphs. Combined, these results suggest a role of the symbiont in host development, the reliable transference of symbionts via egg surfaces, and a degree of co-speciation between symbiont and tropical pentatomid host insects.http://journal.frontiersin.org/Journal/10.3389/fmicb.2014.00349/fullErwiniaSymbiosisstinkbugpentatomidphytophagousneotropical
spellingShingle Kalia S.I. Bistolas
Reid I. Sakamoto
José A.M. Fernandes
Shana K Goffredi
Symbiont Polyphyly, Co-Evolution, and Necessity in Pentatomid Stinkbugs from Costa Rica
Frontiers in Microbiology
Erwinia
Symbiosis
stinkbug
pentatomid
phytophagous
neotropical
title Symbiont Polyphyly, Co-Evolution, and Necessity in Pentatomid Stinkbugs from Costa Rica
title_full Symbiont Polyphyly, Co-Evolution, and Necessity in Pentatomid Stinkbugs from Costa Rica
title_fullStr Symbiont Polyphyly, Co-Evolution, and Necessity in Pentatomid Stinkbugs from Costa Rica
title_full_unstemmed Symbiont Polyphyly, Co-Evolution, and Necessity in Pentatomid Stinkbugs from Costa Rica
title_short Symbiont Polyphyly, Co-Evolution, and Necessity in Pentatomid Stinkbugs from Costa Rica
title_sort symbiont polyphyly co evolution and necessity in pentatomid stinkbugs from costa rica
topic Erwinia
Symbiosis
stinkbug
pentatomid
phytophagous
neotropical
url http://journal.frontiersin.org/Journal/10.3389/fmicb.2014.00349/full
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