THE ROLE OF THE BACTERIAL ENDOSYMBIONT, ARSENOPHONUS , IN THE SOYBEAN APHID, APHIS GLYCINES

摘要: OF DISSERTATION THE ROLE BACTERIAL ENDOSYMBIONT, ARSENOPHONUS, IN SOYBEAN APHID, APHIS GLYCINES Bacterial endosymbionts can have profound impacts on their host’s ecology. Notably, protect hosts against natural enemies and influence host plant interactions. The endosymbiont Candidatus Arsenophonus infects a wide taxonomic range of arthropod hosts, is suspected an uncharacterized mutualistic role in hemipterous insects. In the soybean aphid, Aphis glycines, introduced pest soybeans United States, sole facultative endosymbiont. focus this dissertation to characterize with overall emphasis its impact aphid management strategies. I first used diagnostic PCR determine infection frequency strain diversity for native aphids. found that uniform highly prevalent aphid. then determined if was defense symbiont by curing two genotypes infection, resulting infected uninfected isolines within same genetic background. subjected these assays three parasitoid species common fungal pathogen, Pandora neoaphidis. did not find differences parasitism or infections treatments. These results indicate that, although widespread, should interfere biological control efforts. next examined ability “biotypes” colonize resistant Rag plants. cured additional biotypes. All were growth rate versus susceptible soybean. My aphids increased population compared regardless type Finally, induced plants jasmonic acid (JA) salicylic (SA) effective feeding. also any interaction between defense. SA treatment decreased one experiment, but had no effect when replicated. JA effect, there interactions