Abstract:
Objective To determine the infection and phylogenetic relationships of Wolbachia in nine gall aphids hosted on Rhus spp., Populus yunnanensis and Pistacia chinensis.
Method Fresh aphid galls were collected in the field and transferred the aphids to an Eppendorf tube, and placed in 100% ethanol then deposited in -20℃. The genomic DNA was amplified and sequenced using the primers of 16S rRNA, wsp, ftsZ, groE and gltA genes. The phylogenetic relationships were analysis using Wolbachia 16S rRNA gene sequences and relevant gene sequences from NCBI.
Result Three species among the nine gall aphids species were infected with Wolbachia. The strain from Pemphigus yunnanensis of Kunming population belongs to B supergroup, and strain from Kaburagia rhusicola of Kunming population and Schlechtendalia chinensis of Emei population belong to O supergroup.
Conclusion Compared with the free-living aphids, Wolbachia infected in gall aphids have low infection rates and significant differences among strains.