Nugnes, Francesco and Gebiola, Marco and Monti, Maurilia Maria and Gualtieri, Liberata and Giorgini, Massimo and Wang, Jianguo and Bernardo, Umberto (2015) Genetic diversity of the invasive gall wasp Leptocybe invasa (Hymenoptera: Eulophidae) and of its Rickettsia endosymbiont, and associated sex-ratio differences. PLoS ONE. pp. 1-19. ISSN 1932-6203
|
Text (Genetic diversity of the invasive gall wasp Leptocybe invasa (Hymenoptera: Eulophidae) and of its Rickettsia endosymbiont, and associated sex-ratio differences)
PLoS ONE 2015 Nugnes.pdf - Published Version Download (6MB) | Preview |
Abstract
The blue-gum chalcid Leptocybe invasa Fisher & LaSalle (Hymenoptera: Eulophidae) is a gall wasp pest of Eucalyptus species, likely native to Australia. Over the past 15 years it has invaded 39 countries on all continents where eucalypts are grown. The worldwide invasion of the blue gum chalcid was attributed to a single thelytokous morphospecies formally described in 2004. Subsequently, however, males have been recorded in several countries and the sex ratio of field populations has been found to be highly variable in different areas. In order to find an explanation for such sex ratio differences, populations of L. invasa from a broad geographical area were screened for the symbionts currently known as reproductive manipulators, and both wasps and symbionts were genetically characterized using multiple genes. Molecular analyses suggested that L. invasa is in fact a complex of two cryptic species involved in the rapid and efficient spread of the wasp, the first recovered from the Mediterranean region and South America, the latter from China. All screened specimens were infected by endosymbiotic bacteria belonging to the genus Rickettsia. Two closely related Rickettsia strains were found, each infecting one of the two putative cryptic species of L. invasa and associated with different average sex ratios. Rickettsia were found to be localised in the female reproductive tissues and transovarially transmitted, suggesting a possible role of Rickettsia as the causal agent of thelytokous parthenogenesis in L. invasa. Implications for the variation of sex ratio and for the management of L. invasa are discussed. Nugnes
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Subjects: | 500 Scienze naturali e Matematica > 570 Scienze della vita; Biologia > 576 Genetica ed evoluzione 500 Scienze naturali e Matematica > 570 Scienze della vita; Biologia > 577 Ecologia 500 Scienze naturali e Matematica > 570 Scienze della vita; Biologia > 579 Microrganismi, funghi, alghe. Classificare qui la Microbiologia, i Protista, le protofite, le Thallobionta (Thallophyta); la Storia naturale e la Biologia descrittiva di microrganismi, funghi, alghe; le opere interdisciplinari su microrganismi, funghi |
| Depositing User: | dr Umberto Bernardo |
| Date Deposited: | 20 Dec 2016 13:40 |
| Last Modified: | 20 Dec 2016 13:40 |
| URI: | http://eprints.bice.rm.cnr.it/id/eprint/15487 |
Actions (login required)
 |
View Item |
