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Bacteriomes of the corn leafhopper, Dalbulus maidis (DeLong & Wolcott, 1923) (Insecta, Hemiptera, Cicadellidae: Deltocephalinae) harbor Sulcia symbiont: molecular characterization, ultrastructure, and transovarial transmission

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Abstract

In this study, we surveyed the bacteriome-associated microbiota of the corn leafhopper Dalbulus maidis by means of histological, ultrastructural, and molecular analyses. Amplification and sequencing of 16S rDNA genes revealed that the endosymbiont “Candidatus Sulcia muelleri” (Phylum Bacteroidetes) resides in bacteriomes of D. maidis. Phylogenetic analysis showed that the sequence was closely allied to others found in representatives of the subfamily Deltocephalinae. We failed to amplify other sequences as “Candidatus Nasuia deltocephalinicola,” a co-primary symbiont frequently associated to deltocephaline leafhoppers. In addition, a metagenetic analysis carried out in order to investigate the presence of other bacteriome-associated bacteria of D. maidis showed that the sequence of Sulcia accounted for 98.56 % of all the sequences. Histological and ultrastructural observations showed that microorganisms harbored in bacteriomes (central syncytium and cytoplasm of uninucleate bacteriocytes) look like others Sulcia described in hemipteran species and they were transovarially transmitted from mother to offspring which is typical of obligate endosymbionts. The only presence of Sulcia in the bacteriomes of D. maidis was discussed.

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Acknowledgments

We thank Dr. E. Virla for collecting D. maidis samples used in the present work and Dr. A Maciá for improving the English version of this manuscript. The authors especially thank Dr Hiroaki Noda for providing Nephotettix cincticeps specimens. This work was supported by FONCYT-PICT-2007-00143-03, Comisión de Investigaciones Científicas Pcia de Bs. As. (CIC), Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Tecnológicas (CONICET), and Universidad Nacional de La Plata (UNLP).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. División Entomología. Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Museo, Universidad Nacional de La Plata (UNLP), 1900, La Plata, Argentina

    María Eugenia Brentassi & Ana M. Marino de Remes Lenicov

  2. Comisión de Investigaciones Científicas, Pcia de Bs. As. (CIC) and Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Tecnológicas (CONICET), La Plata, Argentina

    María Eugenia Brentassi & Ana M. Marino de Remes Lenicov

  3. Centro de Investigaciones de Fitopatología (CIDEFI). Facultad de Ciencias Agrarias y Forestales, UNLP-CIC, La Plata, Argentina

    Ernesto Franco, Pedro Balatti & Franco Bernabei

  4. Centro de Investigación y Desarrollo en Fermentaciones Industriales (CINDEFI). Facultad de Ciencias Exactas, UNLP-CONICET, La Plata, Argentina

    Rocío Medina

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  1. María Eugenia Brentassi
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  2. Ernesto Franco
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  3. Pedro Balatti
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  4. Rocío Medina
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Correspondence to María Eugenia Brentassi.

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Brentassi, M.E., Franco, E., Balatti, P. et al. Bacteriomes of the corn leafhopper, Dalbulus maidis (DeLong & Wolcott, 1923) (Insecta, Hemiptera, Cicadellidae: Deltocephalinae) harbor Sulcia symbiont: molecular characterization, ultrastructure, and transovarial transmission. Protoplasma 254, 1421–1429 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00709-016-1033-4

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