View source for Microbial Ecology (2015) 70, 274-286

{{Publication
|Publication authors=Jennifer A. White, Nicola K. Richards, Aurelie Laugraud, Abiya Saeed, Meghan M. Curry and [[Mark R. McNeill]]
|Author Page=Mark R. McNeill
|Publication date=2015
|dc:title=Endosymbiotic candidates for parasitoid defense in exotic and native New Zealand weevils
|Publication journal=Microbial Ecology
|prism:volume=70 (1)
|prism:startingPage=274
|Last page=286
|DOI=10.1007/s00248-014-0561-8
|Publication abstract=Some insects are infected with maternally inherited bacterial endosymbionts that protect them against pathogens or parasitoids. The weevil ''Sitona obsoletus'' (=''Sitona lepidus'') is invasive in New Zealand, and suspected to contain such defensive symbionts, because it is particularly resistant to a Moroccan strain of the parasitoid ''Microctonus aethiopoides'' (which successfully attacks many other weevil species), and shows geographic variation in susceptibility to an Irish strain of the same parasitoid. Using 454 pyrosequencing, we investigated the bacterial community associated with ''S. obsoletus'', two other exotic weevils (''Sitona discoideus'' and ''Listronotus bonariensis'') and two endemic New Zealand weevils (''Irenimus aequalis'' and ''Steriphus variabilis''). We found that ''S. obsoletus'' was infected by one strain of ''Wolbachia'' and two strains of ''Rickettsia'', none of which were found in any other weevil species examined. Using diagnostic PCR, we found that ''S. obsoletus'' in the Northland region, where parasitism is highly variable, were primarily infected with ''Wolbachia'' and ''Rickettsia'' strain 2, indicating that these two symbionts should be investigated for potential defensive properties. In comparison, ''S. discoideus'' lacked any apparent maternally inherited bacterial endosymbionts. In the other weevil species, we found a different strain of ''Wolbachia'' and two different strains of ''Spiroplasma''. Two weevil species (''St. variabilis'' and ''L. bonariensis'') were infected with distinct strains of ''Nardonella'', the ancestral endosymbiont of weevils, whereas three weevil species (''S. obsoletus'', ''S. discoideus'', and ''I. aequalis'') lacked evidence for ''Nardonella'' infection. However, ''I. aequalis'' was consistently infected with a novel Enterobacteriaceae strain, suggesting that a symbiont replacement may have taken place, similar to that described for other weevil clades.
|AbstractCC=Yes
|Research topic=biocontrol - natural enemies
|Benf research=resistance/tolerance/defence of host
|Is book=No
}}
{{Pest record
|Pest=Sitona discoideus
|Quarantined=No
}}
{{Pest record
|Pest=Listronotus bonariensis
|Quarantined=No
}}
{{Pest record
|Pest=Sitona obsoletus
|Country=New Zealand
|Quarantined=No
}}