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Updated: May 30, 2026

Maintaining Biological Cultures and Measuring Gene Expression in Aphis nerii: A Non-model System for Plant-insect Interactions
Published on: August 31, 2018
Facultative symbiont infections affect aphid reproduction
Jean-Christophe Simon1, Sébastien Boutin, Tsutomu Tsuchida
1INRA, UMR 1099 INRA-Agrocampus Ouest-Université de Rennes 1 Biologie des Organismes et des Populations appliquée à la Protection des Plantes (BiO3P), Le Rheu, France. jean-christophe.simon@rennes.inra.fr
Facultative bacterial symbionts in pea aphids (Acyrthosiphon pisum) can harm host fitness during sexual reproduction. Spiroplasma symbionts were found to kill male offspring, a novel male-killing phenotype in aphids.
Area of Science:
- Evolutionary biology
- Microbial ecology
- Insect reproduction
Background:
- Bacterial symbionts influence host reproduction to enhance transmission.
- Pea aphids (Acyrthosiphon pisum) host facultative symbionts affecting ecology.
- Limited knowledge exists on symbiont effects during the sexual phase of aphid reproduction.
Purpose of the Study:
- Investigate facultative symbiont modulation of sexual reproduction in pea aphids.
- Assess symbiont effects across diverse aphid genetic backgrounds and reproductive modes.
- Determine if symbionts explain the loss of sexual reproduction in some aphid lineages.
Main Methods:
- Controlled experiments with defined symbiont compositions in pea aphids.
- Analysis of natural aphid populations with known symbiont status and reproductive modes.
- Evaluation of host fitness and offspring sex ratios under sex-inducing conditions.
Main Results:
- Most facultative symbionts negatively impacted aphid fitness during sexual reproduction.
- Facultative symbionts did not explain the loss of sexual reproduction in permanently parthenogenetic lineages.
- Spiroplasma infection induced a male-killing phenotype, eliminating male offspring production.
Conclusions:
- Facultative symbionts can impose fitness costs on aphids during sexual reproduction.
- The evolution of permanent parthenogenesis in aphids is not driven by facultative symbionts.
- Spiroplasma exhibits an unexpected male-killing effect in aphids, impacting host reproductive strategies.
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