Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 25, 2026

Methods for the Extraction of Endosymbionts from the Whitefly Bemisia tabaci
Published on: June 19, 2017
Nutritional interactions in insect-microbial symbioses: aphids and their symbiotic bacteria Buchnera
1Department of Biology, University of York, PO Box 373, York, YO1 5YW, UK. aed2@york.ac.uk
Abstract:
Most aphids possess intracellular bacteria of the genus Buchnera. The bacteria are transmitted vertically via the aphid ovary, and the association is obligate for both partners: Bacteria-free aphids grow poorly and produce few or no offspring, and Buchnera are both unknown apart from aphids and apparently unculturable. The symbiosis has a nutritional basis. Specifically, bacterial provisioning of essential amino acids has been demonstrated. Nitrogen recycling, however, is not quantitatively important to the nutrition of aphid species studied, and there is strong evidence against bacterial involvement in the lipid and sterol nutrition of aphids. Buchnera have been implicated in various non-nutritional functions. Of these, just one has strong experimental support: promotion of aphid transmission of circulative viruses. It is argued that strong parallels may exist between the nutritional interactions (including the underlying mechanisms) in the aphid-Buchnera association and other insect symbioses with intracellular microorganisms.
More Related Videos
07:20Maintaining Biological Cultures and Measuring Gene Expression in Aphis nerii: A Non-model System for Plant-insect Interactions
Published on: August 31, 2018
06:56Preparing and Rearing Axenic Insects with Tissue Cultured Seedlings for Host-Gut Microbiota Interaction Studies of the Leaf Beetle
Published on: October 8, 2021
Related Concept Videos
Microbial Interactions: Cooperation
Microbe-Plant Interactions
Microbial Interactions: Mutualism
The Roles of Bacteria and Fungi in Plant Nutrition
Microbial Interactions: Parasitism
Microbial Interactions: Predation