Pea aphid symbiont relationships established by analysis of 16S rRNAs

Spiroplasma symbiont of the pea aphid, Acyrthosiphon pisum (Insecta: Homoptera).

From a laboratory strain of the pea aphid, Acyrthosiphon pisum, we discovered a previously unknown facultative endosymbiotic bacterium. Molecular phylogenetic analysis based on 16S ribosomal DNA revealed that the bacterium is a member of the genus Spiroplasma. The Spiroplasma organism showed stable vertical transmission through successive generations of the host. Injection of hemolymph from inf...

Pea Aphid

Role of nitrogen content of pea (Pisum sativum L.) on pea aphid (Acyrthosiphon pisum Harris) establishment

The leaf nitrogen content is generally accepted as an indicator of food quality and as a factor affecting host selection by phytophagous insects. The alate pea aphids (Acyrthosiphon pisum Harris, Aphididae) were given a choice among non-nodulated pea plants (Pisum sativum L.) supplied with one of four nitrate-N levels (0, 3, 15 and 30 mM). When whole plants were exposed to aphids for 7 days, th...

Evidence for the establishment of aphid-eubacterium endosymbiosis in an ancestor of four aphid families.

Aphids (superfamily Aphidoidea) contain eubacterial endosymbionts localized within specialized cells (mycetocytes). The endosymbionts are essential for the survival of the aphid hosts. Sequence analyses of the 16S rRNAs from endosymbionts of 11 aphid species from seven tribes and four families have indicated that the endosymbionts are monophyletic. Furthermore, phylogenetic relationships within...

Oxidation of carbohydrates by the pea aphid, Macrosiphum pisi (Kltb.).

The nutrition and metabolism of aphids are of interest to biochemists, since these important pests depend upon leaf cell sap for their nutrition and excrete large amounts of carbohydrate and amino acids (1, 2). This suggests that they may have some special nutritional requirements (3), and that their carbohydrate metabolism may possess unusual features. The evidence obtained to date indicates t...