Bacterial Infections across the Ants: Frequency and Prevalence of Wolbachia, Spiroplasma, and Asaia
Bacterial endosymbionts are common across insects, but we often lack a deeper knowledge of their prevalence across most organisms. Next-generation sequencing approaches can characterize bacterial diversity associated with a host and at the same time facilitate the fast and simultaneous screening of...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Wiley
2013-01-01
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| Series: | Psyche: A Journal of Entomology |
| Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2013/936341 |
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| author | Stefanie Kautz Benjamin E. R. Rubin Corrie S. Moreau |
| author_facet | Stefanie Kautz Benjamin E. R. Rubin Corrie S. Moreau |
| author_sort | Stefanie Kautz |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Bacterial endosymbionts are common across insects, but we often lack a deeper knowledge of their prevalence across most organisms. Next-generation sequencing approaches can characterize bacterial diversity associated with a host and at the same time facilitate the fast and simultaneous screening of infectious bacteria. In this study, we used 16S rRNA tag encoded amplicon pyrosequencing to survey bacterial communities of 310 samples representing 221 individuals, 176 colonies and 95 species of ants. We found three distinct endosymbiont groups—Wolbachia (Alphaproteobacteria: Rickettsiales), Spiroplasma (Firmicutes: Entomoplasmatales), and relatives of Asaia (Alphaproteobacteria: Rhodospirillales)—at different infection frequencies (at the ant species level: 22.1%, 28.4%, and 14.7%, resp.) and relative abundances within bacterial communities (1.0%–99.9%). Spiroplasma was particularly enriched in the ant genus Polyrhachis, while Asaia relatives were most prevalent in arboreal ants of the genus Pseudomyrmex. While Wolbachia and Spiroplasma have been surveyed in ants before, Asaia, an acetic acid bacterium capable of fixing atmospheric nitrogen, has received much less attention. Due to sporadic prevalence across all ant taxa investigated, we hypothesize facultative associations for all three bacterial genera. Infection patterns are discussed in relation to potential adaptation of specific bacteria in certain ant groups. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-83e5a97e74754cd680a1050d2a375606 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 0033-2615 1687-7438 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2013-01-01 |
| publisher | Wiley |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Psyche: A Journal of Entomology |
| spelling | doaj-art-83e5a97e74754cd680a1050d2a3756062025-02-03T01:21:11ZengWileyPsyche: A Journal of Entomology0033-26151687-74382013-01-01201310.1155/2013/936341936341Bacterial Infections across the Ants: Frequency and Prevalence of Wolbachia, Spiroplasma, and AsaiaStefanie Kautz0Benjamin E. R. Rubin1Corrie S. Moreau2Department of Zoology, Field Museum of Natural History, 1400 South Lake Shore Drive, Chicago, IL 60605, USADepartment of Zoology, Field Museum of Natural History, 1400 South Lake Shore Drive, Chicago, IL 60605, USADepartment of Zoology, Field Museum of Natural History, 1400 South Lake Shore Drive, Chicago, IL 60605, USABacterial endosymbionts are common across insects, but we often lack a deeper knowledge of their prevalence across most organisms. Next-generation sequencing approaches can characterize bacterial diversity associated with a host and at the same time facilitate the fast and simultaneous screening of infectious bacteria. In this study, we used 16S rRNA tag encoded amplicon pyrosequencing to survey bacterial communities of 310 samples representing 221 individuals, 176 colonies and 95 species of ants. We found three distinct endosymbiont groups—Wolbachia (Alphaproteobacteria: Rickettsiales), Spiroplasma (Firmicutes: Entomoplasmatales), and relatives of Asaia (Alphaproteobacteria: Rhodospirillales)—at different infection frequencies (at the ant species level: 22.1%, 28.4%, and 14.7%, resp.) and relative abundances within bacterial communities (1.0%–99.9%). Spiroplasma was particularly enriched in the ant genus Polyrhachis, while Asaia relatives were most prevalent in arboreal ants of the genus Pseudomyrmex. While Wolbachia and Spiroplasma have been surveyed in ants before, Asaia, an acetic acid bacterium capable of fixing atmospheric nitrogen, has received much less attention. Due to sporadic prevalence across all ant taxa investigated, we hypothesize facultative associations for all three bacterial genera. Infection patterns are discussed in relation to potential adaptation of specific bacteria in certain ant groups.http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2013/936341 |
| spellingShingle | Stefanie Kautz Benjamin E. R. Rubin Corrie S. Moreau Bacterial Infections across the Ants: Frequency and Prevalence of Wolbachia, Spiroplasma, and Asaia Psyche: A Journal of Entomology |
| title | Bacterial Infections across the Ants: Frequency and Prevalence of Wolbachia, Spiroplasma, and Asaia |
| title_full | Bacterial Infections across the Ants: Frequency and Prevalence of Wolbachia, Spiroplasma, and Asaia |
| title_fullStr | Bacterial Infections across the Ants: Frequency and Prevalence of Wolbachia, Spiroplasma, and Asaia |
| title_full_unstemmed | Bacterial Infections across the Ants: Frequency and Prevalence of Wolbachia, Spiroplasma, and Asaia |
| title_short | Bacterial Infections across the Ants: Frequency and Prevalence of Wolbachia, Spiroplasma, and Asaia |
| title_sort | bacterial infections across the ants frequency and prevalence of wolbachia spiroplasma and asaia |
| url | http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2013/936341 |
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