Search results for "Mealybugs"
showing 4 items of 4 documents
Pseudococcidae and Monophlebidae
2012
The families Pseudococcidae (mealybugs) and Monophlebidae include small scale insects (Coccoidea: Hemiptera) that suck out plant sap. The bodies of young instars and adult females are covered with a wax secretion, whereas adult males carry a pair of small wings. Feeding by these pests can cause premature leaf, flower, and fruit drop, reduce plant vigour and discolour tissues. In addition, they secrete honeydew upon which sooty-mould fungi grow, reducing photosynthesis and the market value of the product. Six species of Pseudococcidae, namely Planococcus citri (Risso), Pseudococcus cryptus Hempel, Ps. longispinus (Targioni Tozzetti), Ps. calceolariae (Maskell), Ps. viburni (Signoret) and Nip…
The link between independent acquisition of intracellular gamma-endosymbionts and concerted evolution in Tremblaya princeps
2015
Many insect species establish mutualistic symbiosis with intracellular bacteria that complement their unbalanced diets. The betaproteobacterium "Candidatus Tremblaya" maintains an ancient symbiosis with mealybugs (Hemiptera: Pseudococcidae), which are classified in subfamilies Phenacoccinae and Pseudococcinae. Most Phenacoccinae mealybugs have "Candidatus Tremblaya phenacola" as their unique endosymbiont, while most Pseudococcinae mealybugs show a nested symbiosis (a bacterial symbiont placed inside another one) where every "Candidatus Tremblaya princeps" cell harbors several cells of a gammaproteobacterium. Genomic characterization of the endosymbiotic consortium from Planococcus citri, co…
Molecular evidence for ongoing complementarity and horizontal gene transfer in endosymbiotic systems of mealybugs
2014
[EN] Intracellular bacterial supply of essential amino acids is common among sap-feeding insects, thus complementing the scarcity of nitrogenous compounds in plant phloem. This is also the role of the two mealybug endosymbiotic systems whose genomes have been sequenced. In the nested endosymbiotic system from Planococcus citri (Pseudococcinae), “Candidatus Tremblaya princeps” and “Candidatus Moranella endobia” cooperate to synthesize essential amino acids, while in Phenacoccus avenae (Phenacoccinae) this function is performed by its single endosymbiont “Candidatus Tremblaya phenacola.” However, little is known regarding the evolution of essential amino acid supplementation strategies in oth…
Characterization of the mutualistic endosymbiosis between intracellular bacteria and mealybugs (Hemiptera: Pseudococcidae)
2015
Simbiosis, del griego sym “con” y biosis “vivir”, hace referencia a la asociación estable entre individuos de dos o más especies (simbiontes) que muestran interdependencia a cualquier nivel biológico. La ubicuidad de las asociaciones simbióticas en las ramas principales del árbol de la vida evidencia la relevancia global de éstas en la evolución de la vida. Las asociaciones más estudiadas son aquellas que se establecen entre procariotas y eucariotas que, habitualmente, suponen la ampliación de las capacidades metabólicas de los últimos. En este sentido, la simbiosis con bacterias intracelulares se considera un factor clave en el éxito adaptativo de los insectos. En función de su relevancia …