Wolbachia (alphaproteobacteria: rickettsiales) infections in isolated aphid populations from oceanic islands of the Azores archipelago: revisiting the supergroups M and N

Aphids (Hemiptera: Aphididae) have provided a suitable model to study endosymbionts, their community, and dynamics since the discovery of the obligate endosymbiont Buchnera aphidicola in these organisms. In previous studies, Wolbachia was found in some aphid species. In the present study, we report the prevalence of Wolbachia in aphids sampled from a geographically isolated region (Azores Islands), aiming at a better understanding and characterization of the two newly reported supergroups, M and N. The description of the supergroup M was based on 16S rRNA as well as some protein-coding genes. However, the assignment of the supergroup N was according to 16S rRNA gene sequences of a very few …