Infection and Molecular Characterization of Wolbachia in the Alfalfa Weevil (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) in Xinjiang

doi:10.16409/j.cnki.2095-039x.2024.03.008

Abstract

Abstract: The alfalfa weevil, Hypera postica Gyllenhal, is a major pest affecting alfalfa production in Xinjiang. To elucidate the distribution, causes of infection, and supergroup affiliation of Wolbachia endosymbionts in H. postica from Xinjiang, this study collected samples from 20 counties across six regions. Amplification and sequencing were performed for the Wolbachia surface protein gene (wsp) and five genes (gatB, coxA, hcpA, ftsZ, and fbpA) associated with the multilocus sequence typing (MLST) system. Sequence analysis, BLAST comparison, and phylogenetic tree construction were used to molecularly identify Wolbachia strains infecting the sampled H. postica populations. The results indicated that Wolbachia infections were detected only in H. postica populations from six counties within Changji and Bortala Prefectures, with the highest infection rate (58%) observed in Hutubi County and the lowest (6%) in Fukang City. Notably, the Wolbachia infection rate was significantly positively correlated with the longitude of the sampling sites. Both single-gene maximum likelihood (ML) trees and multi-gene Bayesian inference analyses revealed that the Wolbachia strain wHypera4, found in Xinjiang's H. postica, exhibits unique characteristics and belongs to supergroup A, rather than the previously known supergroup B. This finding provides a theoretical basis for exploring novel biological control strategies.

Key words: Hypera postica, Wolbachia, wsp gene, MLST, phylogenetic analysis

CLC Number:

S476

WANG Yang, LIU Xiaoqing, REN Jinlong, ZHAO Li. Infection and Molecular Characterization of Wolbachia in the Alfalfa Weevil (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) in Xinjiang[J]. Chinese Journal of Biological Control, 2024, 40(5): 1160-1168.

References

[1] Hertig M. The Rickettsia, Wolbachia pipientis (gen. et sp.n.) and associated inclusions of the mosquito, Culex pipiens[J]. Parasitology, 1936, 28(4): 453-486.
[2] Werren J H, Baldo L, Clark M E. Wolbachia: master manipulators of invertebrate biology[J]. Nature Reviews Microbiology, 2008, 6(10): 741-751.
[3] 郑小英, 刘起勇, 奚志勇. 基于沃尔巴克氏体的蚊媒和蚊媒病控制的生物安全性[J]. 中国媒介生物学及控制杂志, 2014, 25(2): 93-96.
[4] 贺春贵, 曹致中, 吴劲锋, 等. 我国苜蓿害虫研究的历史、成就及展望. 草业科学[J]. 2005, 22: 75-78.
[5] Shrestha G, Rijal J P, Reddy G V P. Characterization of the spatial distribution of alfalfa weevil, Hypera postica, and its natural enemies, using geospatial models[J]. Pest Management Science, 2021, 77(2): 906-918.
[6] Soroka J, Grenkow L, Carcamo H, et al. An assessment of degree-day models to predict the phenology of alfalfa weevil (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) on the Canadian Prairies[J]. The Canadian Entomologist, 2020, 152(1): 110-129.
[7] Kimura H, Okumura M, Yoshida T. Emergence of and recent damage by the alfalfa weevil[J]. Plant Prot, 1988, 42: 498-501.
[8] 于江南, 赵莉, 王登元. 新疆农业昆虫学[M]. 乌鲁木齐: 新疆科技出版社, 2003.
[9] Sanaei E, Husemann M, Seiedy M, et al. Global genetic diversity, lineage distribution, and Wolbachia infection of the alfalfa weevil Hypera postica (Coleoptera: Curculionidae)[J]. Ecology and Evolution, 2019, 9(17): 9546-9563.
[10] Tuda M, Iwase S ichiro, KÉBÉ K, et al. Diversification, selective sweep, and body size in the invasive Palearctic alfalfa weevil infected with Wolbachia[J]. Scientific Reports, 2021, 11(1): 9664.
[11] Hsiao T H, Hsiao C. Hybridization and cytoplasmic incompatibility among alfalfa weevil strains[J]. Entomologia Experimentalis et Applicata, 1985, 37(2): 155-159.
[12] Soin M, Bhattacharya C, Sharma J, et al. Molecular typing and phylogeny of Wolbachia: A study from Assam, North-Eastern part of India[J]. Acta Tropica, 2017, 176: 421-426.
[13] 任维宾, 杨子祥, 杨瑛, 等. 9种瘿蚜的Wolbachia分子检测和系统发育分析[J]. 林业科学研究, 2018, 31(3): 1-8.
[14] Baldo L, Dunning Hotopp J C, Jolley K A, et al. Multilocus sequence typing system for the endosymbiont Wolbachia pipientis[J]. Applied and Environmental Microbiology, 2006, 72(11): 7098-7110.
[15] Andrews E S. Analyzing Arthropods for the presence of bacteria[J]. Current Protocols in Microbiology, 2013, 28(1): 1E. 6.1-1E. 6.14.
[16] 苗慧, 洪晓月, 谢霖, 等. 朱砂叶螨体内感染的Wolbachia的wsp基因序列测定与分析[J]. 昆虫学报, 2004(6): 738-743.
[17] 张瑞玲, 姚广琴, 潘晓倩, 等. 不同地理种群白纹伊蚊感染Wolbachia的检测和系统发育分析[J]. 中国媒介生物学及控制杂志, 2017, 28(1): 9-11.
[18] Toju H, Fukatsu T. Diversity and infection prevalence of endosymbionts in natural populations of the chestnut weevil: relevance of local climate and host plants: endosymbionts in weevil populations[J]. Molecular Ecology, 2011, 20(4): 853-868.
[19] Ahmed M Z, Araujo-jnr E V, Welch J J, et al. Wolbachia in butterflies and moths: geographic structure in infection frequency[J]. Frontiers in Zoology, 2015, 12(1): 16.
[20] GoraV, Serga, M aistrenko O M, et al. Climate Factors and Wolbachia infection frequencies in natural populations of Drosophila melanogaster[J]. Cytology and Genetics, 2020, 54(3): 189-198.
[21] Werren J H. Biology of Wolbachia[J]. Annual Review of Entomology, 1997, 42(1): 587-609.
[22] Ahemd M Z, Li S J, Xue X, et al. The intracellular bacterium Wolbachia uses parasitoid wasps as phoretic vectors for efficient horizontal transmission[J]. PLOS Pathogens, 2015, 11(2): e1004672.
[23] Klopfstein S, Van Der Schyff G, Tierney S, et al. Wolbachia infections in Australian ichneumonid parasitoid wasps (Hymenoptera: Ichneumonidae): evidence for adherence to the global equilibrium hypothesis[J]. Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, 2018, 123(3): 518-534.
[24] Batista P D, Keddie B A, Dosdall L M, et al. Phylogenetic placement and evidence for horizontal transfer of Wolbachia in Plutella xylostella (Lepidoptera: Plutellidae) and its parasitoid, Diadegma insulare (Hymenoptera: Ichneumonidae)[J]. The Canadian Entomologist, 2010, 142(1): 57-64.
[25] 朱晓锋, 赵莉. 紫苜蓿叶象甲寄生蜂种群数量消长初步研究[J]. 植物保护, 2008, 34(4): 51-53.
[26] Lachowska D, Kajtoch Ł, KnutelskiI S. Occurrence of Wolbachia in central European weevils: correlations with host systematics, ecology, and biology[J]. Entomologia Experimentalis et Applicata, 2010, 135(1): 105-118.
[27] 李菁, 汪洋洲, 张小飞, 等. 新疆地区亚洲玉米螟中Wolbachia共生菌的检测和鉴定[J]. 昆虫学报, 2018, 61(5): 555-564.
[28] Zhou W, Rousset F, O’Neill S. Phylogeny and PCR–based classification of Wolbachia strains using wsp gene sequences[J]. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London. Series B: Biological Sciences, 1998, 265(1395): 509-515.
[29] Hsiao T H, Hsiao C. Hybridization and cytoplasmic incompatibility among alfalfa weevil strains[J]. Entomologia Experimentalis et Applicata, 1985, 37(2): 155-159