Infection Patterns and Fitness Effects of <i>Rickettsia</i> and <i>Sodalis</i> Symbionts in the Green Lacewing <i>Chrysoperla carnea</i>
Endosymbionts are widely distributed in insects and can strongly affect their host ecology. The common green lacewing (<i>Chrysoperla carnea</i>) is a neuropteran insect which is widely used in biological pest control. However, their endosymbionts and their interactions with their hosts...
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MDPI AG
2020-12-01
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| Series: | Insects |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2075-4450/11/12/867 |
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| author | Rebekka Sontowski Michael Gerth Sandy Richter Axel Gruppe Martin Schlegel Nicole M. van Dam Christoph Bleidorn |
| author_facet | Rebekka Sontowski Michael Gerth Sandy Richter Axel Gruppe Martin Schlegel Nicole M. van Dam Christoph Bleidorn |
| author_sort | Rebekka Sontowski |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Endosymbionts are widely distributed in insects and can strongly affect their host ecology. The common green lacewing (<i>Chrysoperla carnea</i>) is a neuropteran insect which is widely used in biological pest control. However, their endosymbionts and their interactions with their hosts have not been very well studied. Therefore, we screened for endosymbionts in natural and laboratory populations of <i>Ch. carnea</i> using diagnostic PCR amplicons. We found the endosymbiont <i>Rickettsia</i> to be very common in all screened natural and laboratory populations, while a hitherto uncharacterized <i>Sodalis</i> strain was found only in laboratory populations. By establishing lacewing lines with no, single or co-infections of <i>Sodalis</i> and <i>Rickettsia</i>, we found a high vertical transmission rate for both endosymbionts (>89%). However, we were only able to estimate these numbers for co-infected lacewings. <i>Sodalis</i> negatively affected the reproductive success in single and co-infected <i>Ch. carnea</i>, while <i>Rickettsia</i> showed no effect. We hypothesize that the fitness costs accrued by <i>Sodalis</i> infections might be more tolerable in the laboratory than in natural populations, as the latter are also prone to fluctuating environmental conditions and natural enemies. The economic and ecological importance of lacewings in biological pest control warrants a more profound understanding of its biology, which might be influenced by symbionts. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T14:16:06Z |
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| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2075-4450 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T14:16:06Z |
| publishDate | 2020-12-01 |
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| series | Insects |
| spelling | doaj.art-f79cc17c008a4fa9a9d30946f74c66222023-11-20T23:49:46ZengMDPI AGInsects2075-44502020-12-01111286710.3390/insects11120867Infection Patterns and Fitness Effects of <i>Rickettsia</i> and <i>Sodalis</i> Symbionts in the Green Lacewing <i>Chrysoperla carnea</i>Rebekka Sontowski0Michael Gerth1Sandy Richter2Axel Gruppe3Martin Schlegel4Nicole M. van Dam5Christoph Bleidorn6German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig, 04103 Leipzig, GermanyDepartment of Biological and Medical Sciences, Oxford Brookes University, Oxford OX3 0BP, UKDepartment of Basic and Clinical Neuroscience, King’s College London, 5 Cutcombe Road, London SE5 9RT, UKChair of Zoology—Entomology Group, Technical University of Munich, 85354 Freising, GermanyGerman Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig, 04103 Leipzig, GermanyGerman Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig, 04103 Leipzig, GermanyGerman Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig, 04103 Leipzig, GermanyEndosymbionts are widely distributed in insects and can strongly affect their host ecology. The common green lacewing (<i>Chrysoperla carnea</i>) is a neuropteran insect which is widely used in biological pest control. However, their endosymbionts and their interactions with their hosts have not been very well studied. Therefore, we screened for endosymbionts in natural and laboratory populations of <i>Ch. carnea</i> using diagnostic PCR amplicons. We found the endosymbiont <i>Rickettsia</i> to be very common in all screened natural and laboratory populations, while a hitherto uncharacterized <i>Sodalis</i> strain was found only in laboratory populations. By establishing lacewing lines with no, single or co-infections of <i>Sodalis</i> and <i>Rickettsia</i>, we found a high vertical transmission rate for both endosymbionts (>89%). However, we were only able to estimate these numbers for co-infected lacewings. <i>Sodalis</i> negatively affected the reproductive success in single and co-infected <i>Ch. carnea</i>, while <i>Rickettsia</i> showed no effect. We hypothesize that the fitness costs accrued by <i>Sodalis</i> infections might be more tolerable in the laboratory than in natural populations, as the latter are also prone to fluctuating environmental conditions and natural enemies. The economic and ecological importance of lacewings in biological pest control warrants a more profound understanding of its biology, which might be influenced by symbionts.https://www.mdpi.com/2075-4450/11/12/867biological pest controlco-infectionendosymbiontNeuropteraRickettsialessymbiosis |
| spellingShingle | Rebekka Sontowski Michael Gerth Sandy Richter Axel Gruppe Martin Schlegel Nicole M. van Dam Christoph Bleidorn Infection Patterns and Fitness Effects of <i>Rickettsia</i> and <i>Sodalis</i> Symbionts in the Green Lacewing <i>Chrysoperla carnea</i> Insects biological pest control co-infection endosymbiont Neuroptera Rickettsiales symbiosis |
| title | Infection Patterns and Fitness Effects of <i>Rickettsia</i> and <i>Sodalis</i> Symbionts in the Green Lacewing <i>Chrysoperla carnea</i> |
| title_full | Infection Patterns and Fitness Effects of <i>Rickettsia</i> and <i>Sodalis</i> Symbionts in the Green Lacewing <i>Chrysoperla carnea</i> |
| title_fullStr | Infection Patterns and Fitness Effects of <i>Rickettsia</i> and <i>Sodalis</i> Symbionts in the Green Lacewing <i>Chrysoperla carnea</i> |
| title_full_unstemmed | Infection Patterns and Fitness Effects of <i>Rickettsia</i> and <i>Sodalis</i> Symbionts in the Green Lacewing <i>Chrysoperla carnea</i> |
| title_short | Infection Patterns and Fitness Effects of <i>Rickettsia</i> and <i>Sodalis</i> Symbionts in the Green Lacewing <i>Chrysoperla carnea</i> |
| title_sort | infection patterns and fitness effects of i rickettsia i and i sodalis i symbionts in the green lacewing i chrysoperla carnea i |
| topic | biological pest control co-infection endosymbiont Neuroptera Rickettsiales symbiosis |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2075-4450/11/12/867 |
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