PCR-based detection and identification of insect symbionts

Abstract

Bacterial symbionts of insects are very common and, in many instances, can have profound effects on the physiology of their host insect. Many of them live intracellularly in modified host cells (mycetocytes) and all are transmitted from one insect generation to the next with great fidelity. In some cases these agents are required for the survival of their host, presumably by supplying the insect with required nutrients. Examples of these mutualistic associations include the extracellular symbionts of the triatomine bug, Rhodnius prolixus (Baines, 1956), and the intracellular mycetocyte associated bacteria of tsetse flies (Southwood et al., 1975; Aksoy et al., 1995). These symbionts are found in 100% of host insects and their removal by antibiotics can lead to slower growth, sterility and ultimately death. In addition to this traditional class of insect mutualists, a number of examples of bacterial symbionts which exert a more parasitic effect on their insect host have also been described.