Bacterial symbionts of a devastating coffee plant pest, the stinkbug Antestiopsis thunbergii (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae).

ABSTRACT: Stinkbugs of the genus Antestiopsis, so-called antestia bugs or variegated coffee bugs, are notorious pests of coffee plants in Africa. We investigated the symbiotic bacteria associated with Antestiopsis thunbergii, a major coffee plant pest in Rwanda. PCR, cloning, sequencing, and phylogenetic analysis of bacterial genes identified four distinct bacterial lineages associated with A. thunbergii: a gammaproteobacterial gut symbiont and symbionts representing the genera Sodalis, Spiroplasma, and Rickettsia. In situ hybridization showed that the gut symbiont densely occupied the lumen of midgut crypts, whereas the Sodalis symbiont, the Spiroplasma symbiont, and the Rickettsia symbiont sparsely and sporadically infected various cells and tissues. Diagnostic PCR survey of 154 A. thunbergii indi

SUBMITTER: Matsuura Y 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4054137 | biostudies-literature | 2014 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature