[en] Facultative bacteria in aphids provide their hosts with various physiological and ecological adaptations, such as resistance to thermal stress, parasitoids and entomopathogenic fungi. Furthermore, these symbionts possess the capacity to modulate the composition of honeydew, a substance that is particularly favored by numerous ant species. That's why we were interested in determining whether the presence of facultative bacteria in myrmecophilic aphids influences their relationship with mutualistic ants. In the vicinity of Antananarivo (Madagascar), the objectives of the study were to (i) determine the diversity of ants, aphids and symbionts and to (ii) assess the impacts of the identified symbiont on behavioural interactions of ants and aphids. We identified a total of four species (Serratia symbiotica, Rickettsia, Spiroplasma, Hamiltonella defensa) of facultative symbionts present in the three ant species (Camponotus maculate, Monomorium madecassum, Nylanderia gracilis) we tested and a total of six facultative symbionts (Serratia symbiotica, Rickettsia, Spiroplasma, Hamiltonella defensa, Regiella insecticola, Rickettsiella) among three of the five aphid species (Aphis citricidus, Aphis fabae, Aphis spiraecola, Macrosiphum euphorbiae, Rhopalosiphum maidis) we tested. Although our results did not show the involvement of symbionts on ant behaviour or their association with aphids, our study showed that the number of ants increases with the number of interactions, that Nylanderia gracilis are the ants with the most interactions and finally that ants observed on pesticide-treated plots have fewer interactions with aphids.
Disciplines :
Zoology
Author, co-author :
Luttenschlager, Hugo ; Université de Liège - ULiège > TERRA Research Centre > Gestion durable des bio-agresseurs
Noël, Grégoire ; Université de Liège - ULiège > Département GxABT > Gestion durable des bio-agresseurs
Carpentier, Joachim ; Université de Liège - ULiège > TERRA Research Centre > Gestion durable des bio-agresseurs
Glacet, Lallie ; Université de Liège - ULiège > TERRA Research Centre > Gestion durable des bio-agresseurs
Ravelomanana, Andrianjaka; Depto d'Entomologie-Culture, Elevage Et Santé de La Faculté Des Sciences, Univ d'Antananarivo, Antananarivo, Madagascar
Rakotonirina, Jean Claude; Depto d'Entomologie-Culture, Elevage Et Santé de La Faculté Des Sciences, Univ d'Antananarivo, Antananarivo, Madagascar
Rajaonera, Tahina; Depto d'Entomologie-Culture, Elevage Et Santé de La Faculté Des Sciences, Univ d'Antananarivo, Antananarivo, Madagascar
Francis, Frédéric ; Université de Liège - ULiège > TERRA Research Centre > Gestion durable des bio-agresseurs
Language :
English
Title :
Diversity and implication of symbiotic bacteria in aphids-ants relationships in Madagascar
ARES - Académie de Recherche et d'Enseignement Supérieur
Funding text :
We would like to express our gratitude to ARES (Acad\u00E9mie de recherche et d'enseignement sup\u00E9rieur) for funding the study trip that enabled this research. Hugo Luttenschlager is financially supported by the Walloon Region (Service Public de Wallonie; DGO6) from Belgium, as part of the ASTIPOR project (D65-1438) obtained under Walloon Recovery Plan ( https://www.wallonie.be/en/plans-wallons/plan-de-relance-de-la-wallonie (accessed on 28 January 2025)).
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