Novel but stable endosymbionts have contrasting effects on aphid dispersal and plant feeding damage in the cereal pest Diuraphis noxia.
4 affiliations
- 1Pest and Environmental Adaptation Research Group, School of BioSciences, Bio21 Molecular Science and Biotechnology Institute, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, Australia.
- 2Section for Bioscience and Engineering, Department of Chemistry and Bioscience, Aalborg University, Aalborg, Denmark.
- 3Cesar Australia, Brunswick, Australia.
- 4Metabolomics Australia, Bio21 Molecular Science and Biotechnology Institute, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, Australia.
Abstract
Endosymbiotic bacteria can affect many ecological attributes of their insect hosts, including (in herbivorous insects) how they interact with plants where they feed. This raises the issue of whether deliberate endosymbiont introductions could be used to decrease crop damage caused by insect pests. Here, we investigate how transinfecting Rickettsiella viridis and Regiella insecticola endosymbionts into a novel pest aphid host, the Russian wheat aphid (Diuraphis noxia), influences population growth, alate production, dispersal ability, and crop damage. Both the Rickettsiella (originating from pea aphids) and Regiella (from green peach aphids) were stably maintained in their new host where they had contrasting effects. Rickettsiella increased the severity of aphid feeding damage on wheat and barley, resulting in greater leaf loss, chlorotic streaking, and higher aphid populations, whereas Regiella reduced aphid population growth and the severity of feeding damage by aphids. Their effects on dispersal morphology also differed: Regiella had no detectable impact on alate incidence, while Rickettsiella consistently suppressed wing formation in small cages, and in larger mesocosms with multiple wheat plants this endosymbiont suppressed dispersal. Endosymbiont-mediated changes in feeding damage did not involve the main plant immune response pathways: transinfected and wild type aphids induced similar levels of jasmonic acid, jasmonic acid-isoleucine, and salicylic acid in plant tissues, even though these plant defenses were strongly activated during aphid feeding. Novel endosymbionts can therefore modulate the severity of plant feeding damage by aphids as well as influencing aphid dispersal. Potential applications in controlling pest D. noxia populations are discussed.
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BibTeX
@article{gu2026novel,
title = {{Novel but stable endosymbionts have contrasting effects on aphid dispersal and plant feeding damage in the cereal pest Diuraphis noxia.}},
author = {Xinyue Gu and Alex Gill and Qiong Yang and Perran Ross and Lucy Hayward and Monica Stelmach and Paul A Umina and Sheik Nadeem Elahee Doomun and Mel Berran and Lauren Coakley and Sonia Sharma and Ary Hoffmann},
journal = {ELife},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.7554/elife.111255},
url = {https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42905537},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Novel but stable endosymbionts have contrasting effects on aphid dispersal and plant feeding damage in the cereal pest Diuraphis noxia.
AU - Xinyue Gu
AU - Alex Gill
AU - Qiong Yang
AU - Perran Ross
AU - Lucy Hayward
AU - Monica Stelmach
AU - Paul A Umina
AU - Sheik Nadeem Elahee Doomun
AU - Mel Berran
AU - Lauren Coakley
AU - Sonia Sharma
AU - Ary Hoffmann
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/21
JO - ELife
DO - 10.7554/elife.111255
UR - https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42905537
AB - Endosymbiotic bacteria can affect many ecological attributes of their insect hosts, including (in herbivorous insects) how they interact with plants where they feed. This raises the issue of whether deliberate endosymbiont introductions could be used to decrease crop damage caused by insect pests. Here, we investigate how transinfecting Rickettsiella viridis and Regiella insecticola endosymbionts into a novel pest aphid host, the Russian wheat aphid (Diuraphis noxia), influences population growth, alate production, dispersal ability, and crop damage. Both the Rickettsiella (originating from pea aphids) and Regiella (from green peach aphids) were stably maintained in their new host where they had contrasting effects. Rickettsiella increased the severity of aphid feeding damage on wheat and barley, resulting in greater leaf loss, chlorotic streaking, and higher aphid populations, whereas Regiella reduced aphid population growth and the severity of feeding damage by aphids. Their effects on dispersal morphology also differed: Regiella had no detectable impact on alate incidence, while Rickettsiella consistently suppressed wing formation in small cages, and in larger mesocosms with multiple wheat plants this endosymbiont suppressed dispersal. Endosymbiont-mediated changes in feeding damage did not involve the main plant immune response pathways: transinfected and wild type aphids induced similar levels of jasmonic acid, jasmonic acid-isoleucine, and salicylic acid in plant tissues, even though these plant defenses were strongly activated during aphid feeding. Novel endosymbionts can therefore modulate the severity of plant feeding damage by aphids as well as influencing aphid dispersal. Potential applications in controlling pest D. noxia populations are discussed.
SN - 2050-084X
ER -