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Fitness costs of infection with Serratia symbiotica are associated with greater susceptibility to insecticides in the pea aphid Acyrthosiphon pisum
Author(s) -
Skaljac Marisa,
Kirfel Phillipp,
Grotmann Jens,
Vilcinskas Andreas
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
pest management science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.296
H-Index - 125
eISSN - 1526-4998
pISSN - 1526-498X
DOI - 10.1002/ps.4881
Subject(s) - acyrthosiphon pisum , aphid , biology , abiotic component , host (biology) , imidacloprid , toxicology , agronomy , pesticide , botany , pest analysis , aphididae , ecology , homoptera
Abstract BACKGROUND Aphids are agricultural pests that damage crops by direct feeding and by vectoring important plant viruses. Bacterial symbionts can influence aphid biology, e.g. by providing essential nutrients or facilitating adaptations to biotic and abiotic stress. RESULTS We investigated the pea aphid ( Acyrthosiphon pisum Harris) and its commonly associated secondary bacterial symbiont Serratia symbiotica to study the effect of this symbiont on host fitness and susceptibility to the insecticides imidacloprid, chlorpyrifos methyl, methomyl, cyantraniliprole and spirotetramat. There is emerging evidence that members of the genus Serratia can degrade and/or detoxify diverse insecticides. Therefore, we hypothesized that S. symbiotica may promote resistance to these artificial stress agents in aphids. Our results showed that Serratia ‐infected aphids were more susceptible to most of the tested insecticides than non‐infected aphids. This probably reflects the severe fitness costs associated with S. symbiotica , which negatively affects development, reproduction and body weight. CONCLUSION Our study demonstrates that S. symbiotica plays an important role in the ability of aphid hosts to tolerate insecticides. These results provide insight into the potential changes in tolerance to insecticides in the field because there is a continuous and dynamic process of symbiont acquisition and loss that may directly affect host biology. © 2018 Society of Chemical Industry