Phenotypic effect of "Candidatus Rickettsiella viridis," a facultative symbiont of the pea aphid (Acyrthosiphon pisum), and its interaction with a coexisting symbiont.

ABSTRACT: A gammaproteobacterial facultative symbiont of the genus Rickettsiella was recently identified in the pea aphid, Acyrthosiphon pisum. Infection with this symbiont altered the color of the aphid body from red to green, potentially affecting the host's ecological characteristics, such as attractiveness to different natural enemies. In European populations of A. pisum, the majority of Rickettsiella-infected aphids also harbor another facultative symbiont, of the genus Hamiltonella. We investigated this Rickettsiella symbiont for its interactions with the coinfecting Hamiltonella symbiont, its phenotypic effects on A. pisum with and without Hamiltonella coinfection, and its infection prevalence in A. pisum populations. Histological analyses revealed that coinfecting Rickettsiella and Hamiltone

SUBMITTER: Tsuchida T 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3911091 | biostudies-literature | 2014 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature