• Current Research on Agriculture and Life Sciences
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• 제30권2호
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• pp.124-130
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• 2012

Sweetpotato whitefly, Bemisia tabaci, is a vector of more than 100 plant-diseased viruses, as well as a serious pest of various horticultural plants. This species harbors a primary endosymbiont Portiera along with several secondary endosymbionts such as Cardinium and Hamiltonella. We investigated whether or not TYLCV acquisition alters the densities of endosymbionts in the body of B. tabaci using quantitative real-time PCR. Our results showed that the densities of both Cardinium and Hamiltonella, but not Portiera, increased upon acquisition of TYLCV. In addition, expression of GroEL, a molecular chaperone produced by Hamiltonella, was significantly upregulated in TYLCV-infected whiteflies. Our results suggest that endosymbionts may play an important role in TYLCV transmission mechanism within the body of B. tabaci.

• Proceedings of the National Institute of Ecology of the Republic of Korea
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• 제1권1호
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• pp.52-57
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• 2020

Bacterial symbionts are common across insects, including ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Reproduction-manipulating endosymbionts, such as Wolbachia, Spiroplasma, Rickettsia, and Cardinium, are closely associated with many aspects of host-insect life. In addition, phage WO plays an essential role in the phenotypic effects of Wolbachia. Although endosymbionts are possible biological control agents, there is a lack of knowledge of their rate of infection of ants in Korea. We tested a range of Korean ant species for the presence of Wolbachia, Spiroplasma, Rickettsia, Cardinium, and phage WO by extracting DNA from the ants and using specific primer sets to test the status of infections. In addition, the mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase I (COI) gene of the host ants was amplified to confirm the molecular identification and phylogenetic relationship between the hosts. We found that infection with Wolbachia (29.6% of species) is relatively common when compared with that of other endosymbionts. Only one species was infected with Spiroplasma. Infection with Rickettsia and Cardinium was not detected in the examined ants. Most Wolbachia in ants were infected with phage WO. Although the phenotypic effects of endosymbionts in ants are still unknown, this first survey of endosymbionts in Korea is the first step toward the use of reproduction-manipulating endosymbionts.