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Wolbachia-centered cytoplasmic axis links elevational mitochondrial DNA turnover with microbiome restructuring
Yong Zhang1, Xueyu Huang1, Qiangkun Li1
1State Key Laboratory for Tea Plant Germplasm Innovation and Resource Utilization, Key Laboratory of Tea Biology and Tea Processing, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Anhui Agricultural University, Hefei, Anhui 230036, China.
The ISME Journal
|July 17, 2026
Summary
Heritable endosymbionts like Wolbachia can influence insect mitochondrial DNA patterns along elevation gradients. This study shows Wolbachia drives mitochondrial turnover and microbiome shifts in tea green leafhoppers, not just local adaptation.
Area of Science:
- Evolutionary Biology
- Microbial Ecology
- Genetics
Background:
- Elevational clines in insect mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) are often linked to local adaptation.
- Heritable endosymbionts, such as Wolbachia, are maternally co-inherited with mtDNA and can confound these interpretations through cytoplasmic hitchhiking.
- Understanding the role of symbionts is crucial for accurate inference of environmental adaptation.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate a symbiont-aware cytoplasmic-axis framework in the tea green leafhopper (Empoasca onukii).
- To investigate the influence of Wolbachia infection on mtDNA clines and microbiome structure across an elevational gradient.
Main Methods:
- Conducted a replicated elevational survey of Empoasca onukii across 79 sites (11-2750m).
- Quantified Wolbachia prevalence, burden, and strain composition.
- Analyzed mtDNA haplotypes, nuclear DNA markers, and whole-insect bacterial community profiles.
Main Results:
- Wolbachia prevalence, burden, and strain composition varied significantly with elevation, showing distinct strain turnover.
- Mitochondrial diversity decreased and haplotypes homogenized at higher elevations, contrasting with nuclear markers, indicating cytoplasmic hitchhiking.
- Bacterial communities showed Wolbachia dominance, but non-Wolbachia taxa restructuring also occurred.
Conclusions:
- Wolbachia plays a central role in a cytoplasmic framework explaining elevational mtDNA turnover and microbiome restructuring in Empoasca onukii.
- Dominant heritable symbionts significantly impact observed genetic patterns and host-associated microbial communities.
- This highlights the need to account for symbiont dynamics in studies of insect adaptation and evolution.
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