Premium
The influence of facultative endosymbionts on honeydew carbohydrate and amino acid composition of the black bean aphid A phis fabae
Author(s) -
Schillewaert Sharon,
Parmentier Thomas,
Vantaux Amelie,
Van den Ende Wim,
Vorburger Christoph,
Wenseleers Tom
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
physiological entomology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.693
H-Index - 57
eISSN - 1365-3032
pISSN - 0307-6962
DOI - 10.1111/phen.12181
Subject(s) - honeydew , biology , aphid , facultative , botany , acyrthosiphon pisum , host (biology) , antibiosis , aphis , mutualism (biology) , aphididae , bacteria , pest analysis , ecology , homoptera , genetics
The facultative endosymbionts H amiltonella defensa and R egiella insecticola are commonly found in aphids. They are linked with various ecological benefits but generally occur at low prevalence, which indicates a possible harbouring cost. Little is known about how the presence of facultative endosymbionts is reflected in honeydew composition. Honeydew is the key mediator of the mutualism between aphids and their tending ants. The present study examines whether endosymbionts have an influence on aphid honeydew quality by comparing the amino acid and carbohydrate concentrations between infected and uninfected aphids. To this end, two genetic lines of the aphid A phis fabae S copoli are experimentally infected with different strains of H amiltonella and R egiella . Infected aphids are shown to have reduced concentrations of amino acids in the honeydew compared with uninfected aphids. However, the presence of endosymbionts has no effect on the absolute amount of carbohydrates produced. Nevertheless, interclonal variation in honeydew composition between aphid genotypes is observed for both carbohydrate and amino acid production. These results imply that the nutritional value of honeydew depends on aphid genotype, as well as on the presence of secondary bacterial endosymbionts, which suggests that there is a physiological cost of harbouring endosymbionts and which could also impact aphid attractiveness to tending ants.