אסיף מאגר המחקר החקלאי

Horizontal transmission of the insect symbiont Rickettsia is plant-mediated

Year:

2012

Source of publication :

Authors :

Volume :

279

Co-Authors:

Caspi-Fluger, A., Department of Entomology, Newe-Ya'ar Research Center, ARO, Ramat-Yishay 30095, Israel, Department of Evolutionary and Environmental Biology, University of Haifa, Haifa 31905, Israel
Inbar, M., Department of Evolutionary and Environmental Biology, University of Haifa, Haifa 31905, Israel
Mozes-Daube, N., Department of Entomology, Newe-Ya'ar Research Center, ARO, Ramat-Yishay 30095, Israel
Katzir, N., Department of Vegetable Crops, Newe-Ya'ar Research Center, ARO, Ramat-Yishay 30095, Israel
Portnoy, V., Department of Vegetable Crops, Newe-Ya'ar Research Center, ARO, Ramat-Yishay 30095, Israel
Belausov, E., Department of Ornamental Horticulture, The Volcani Center, ARO, Bet- Dagan 50250, Israel
Hunter, M.S., Department of Entomology, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721, United States
Zchori-Fein, E., Department of Entomology, Newe-Ya'ar Research Center, ARO, Ramat-Yishay 30095, Israel

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Abstract:

Bacteria in the genus Rickettsia, best known as vertebrate pathogens vectored by blood-feeding arthropods, can also be found in phytophagous insects. The presence of closely related bacterial symbionts in evolutionarily distant arthropod hosts presupposes a means of horizontal transmission, but no mechanism for this transmission has been described. Using a combination of experiments with live insects, molecular analyses and microscopy, we found that Rickettsia were transferred from an insect host (the whitefly Bemisia tabaci) to a plant, moved inside the phloem, and could be acquired by other whiteflies. In one experiment, Rickettsia was transferred from the whitefly host to leaves of cotton, basil and black nightshade, where the bacteria were restricted to the phloem cells of the plant. In another experiment, Rickettsia-free adult whiteflies, physically segregated but sharing a cotton leaf with Rickettsia-plus individuals, acquired the Rickettsia at a high rate. Plants can serve as a reservoir for horizontal transmission of Rickettsia, a mechanism which may explain the occurrence of phylogenetically similar symbionts among unrelated phytophagous insect species. This plant-mediated transmission route may also exist in other insect-symbiont systems and, since symbionts may play a critical role in the ecology and evolution of their hosts, serve as an immediate and powerful tool for accelerated evolution. © 2012 The Royal Society.

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