Novel bacteriocyte-associated pleomorphic symbiont of the grain pest beetle Rhyzopertha dominica (Coleoptera: Bostrichidae).

ABSTRACT:

Background

The lesser grain borer Rhyzopertha dominica (Coleoptera: Bostrichidae) is a stored-product pest beetle. Early histological studies dating back to 1930s have reported that R. dominica and other bostrichid species possess a pair of oval symbiotic organs, called the bacteriomes, in which the cytoplasm is densely populated by pleomorphic symbiotic bacteria of peculiar rosette-like shape. However, the microbiological nature of the symbiont has remained elusive.

Results

Here we investigated the bacterial symbiont of R. dominica using modern molecular, histological, and microscopic techniques. Whole-mount fluorescence in situ hybridization specifically targeting symbiotic bacteria consistently detected paired bacteriomes, in which the cytoplasm was f

SUBMITTER: Okude G 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5563036 | biostudies-literature | 2017

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature