Novel and sustainable strategies to prevent and mitigate Xylella fastidiosa disease impact on olive tree

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Diversity, Composition, and Specificity of the Philaenus spumarius Bacteriome

Publication . Cameirão, Cristina; Costa, Daniela; Rufino, José; Pereira, J.A.; Lino-Neto, Teresa; Baptista, Paula

Philaenus spumarius (Linnaeus, 1758) (Hemiptera, Aphrophoridae) was recently classified as a pest due to its ability to act as a vector of the phytopathogen Xylella fastidiosa. This insect has been reported to harbour several symbiotic bacteria that play essential roles in P. spumarius health and fitness. However, the factors driving bacterial assemblages remain largely unexplored. Here, the bacteriome associated with different organs (head, abdomen, and genitalia) of males and females of P. spumarius was characterized using culturally dependent and independent methods and compared in terms of diversity and composition. The bacteriome of P. spumarius is enriched in Proteobacteria, Bacteroidota, and Actinobacteria phyla, as well as in Candidatus Sulcia and Cutibacterium genera. The most frequent isolates were Curtobacterium, Pseudomonas, and Rhizobiaceae sp.1. Males display a more diverse bacterial community than females, but no differences in diversity were found in distinct organs. However, the organ shapes the bacteriome structure more than sex, with the Microbacteriaceae family revealing a high level of organ specificity and the Blattabacteriaceae family showing a high level of sex specificity. Several symbiotic bacterial genera were identified in P. spumarius for the first time, including Rhodococcus, Citrobacter, Halomonas, Streptomyces, and Providencia. Differences in the bacterial composition within P. spumarius organs and sexes suggest an adaptation of bacteria to particular insect tissues, potentially shaped by their significance in the life and overall fitness of P. spumarius. Although more research on the bacteria of P. spumarius interactions is needed, such knowledge could help to develop specific bacterial-based insect management strategies.

2024Journal article

Open access

Bacterial dynamics and exchange in plant-insect interactions

Publication . Cameirão, Cristina; Pereira, José Alberto; Tavares, Rui; Lino-Neto, Teresa; Baptista, Paula

In nature, plants and insects engage in intricate interactions. Despite the increasing knowledge of the microbiomes of plants and insects, the extent to which they exchange and alter each other’s microbiomes remains unclear. In this work, the bacterial community associated with nymphs of Philaenus spumarius (Hemiptera: Aphrophoridae), the stems of Coleostephus myconis where the nymphs were feeding, and the foam produced by the nymphs, were studied by culture-dependent and -independent approaches, with an attempt to elucidate the exchange of bacteria between plants and insects. The results suggest that both approaches complement each other, as many bacterial genera identified by metabarcoding were not detected by culturing, and vice versa. Overall, stems and foam exhibited higher bacterial diversity than nymphs, with all the samples showing enrichment in bacteria known to provide diverse benefits to their host. Stems and foam were the most similar in bacterial composition, but Burkholderiaceae and Moraxellaceae dominated the stems, whereas Rhizobiaceae and Sphingobacteriaceae dominated the foam. Nymphs exhibit the most distinct bacterial composition, yet more similar to that found in the stem compared to the foam. Indeed, nymphs were enriched on endosymbiotic bacteria, mostly Candidatus Sulcia and Sodalis, not found in the stem and foam. Nevertheless, during feeding, nymphs appeared to exchange several bacteria genera with C. myconis, with a significant number being incor- porated into the bacteriome of the nymph. The genera Curvibacter, Cutibacterium, Methylobacterium, Pseudomonas and Rhizobium are likely the most exchanged. Nymphs also appear to exchange bacteria to the foam, notably species from the Enhydrobacter, Pseudomonas, Rhizobium and Roseomonas genera. More studies to infer the functions of the shared bacteria between P. spumarius-C. myconis are needed.

2025Journal article

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