Data from: Wolbachia infection modifies phloem feeding behavior but not plant virus transmission by a hemipteran host

Wolbachia-infected and uninfected subpopulations of beet leafhoppers, Circulifer tenellus (Baker) (Hemiptera: Cicadellidae), co-occur in the Columbia Basin region of Washington and Oregon. While facultative endosymbionts such as Hamiltonella defensa have demonstrably altered feeding/probing behavior in hemipteran hosts, the behavioral phenotypes conferred by Wolbachia to its insect hosts, including feeding/probing, are largely understudied. We studied the feeding/probing behavior of beet leafhoppers from in-house colonies with and without Wolbachia on plants using electropenetrography, along with corresponding inoculation rates of beet curly top virus (BCTV), a phloem-limited plant pathogen vectored by beet leafhoppers. Insects carrying BCTV with and without Wolbachia were individually recorded for four hours while interacting with a potato plant, and wavelengths annotated following established conventions. Virus inoculation rates and the duration of phloem salivation events did not vary. Wolbachia-infected insects more than tripled the duration of phloem ingestion, but despite this, Wolbachia infection was linked with marginally lower, not enhanced, acquisition. Regardless, results suggest potential for Wolbachia to increase the acquisition rate of other phloem-limited plant pathogens.在华盛顿州与俄勒冈州的哥伦比亚盆地区域，共生有感染沃尔巴克氏体（Wolbachia）与未感染的甜菜叶蝉（Circulifer tenellus (Baker)，半翅目：叶蝉科（Hemiptera: Cicadellidae））种群。尽管汉森氏菌（Hamiltonella defensa）等兼性内共生菌已被证实可改变半翅目宿主的取食/刺探行为，但沃尔巴克氏体赋予其昆虫宿主的行为表型（包括取食/刺探行为）仍尚未得到充分研究。本研究利用电刺探电位图谱（electropenetrography）技术，针对携带与不携带沃尔巴克氏体的室内饲养甜菜叶蝉种群，探究其在寄主植物上的取食/刺探行为，并同步测定其传播甜菜曲顶病毒（beet curly top virus, BCTV）的接种效率；甜菜曲顶病毒是一种由甜菜叶蝉介导的韧皮部限制性植物病原物。研究人员对携带与不携带沃尔巴克氏体且携带BCTV的叶蝉个体，在与马铃薯植株互作期间进行了为期4小时的行为记录，并按照通用规范对刺探波形进行标注。结果显示，病毒接种效率与韧皮部唾液分泌时长均无显著差异。携带沃尔巴克氏体的叶蝉其韧皮部取食时长较对照组提升两倍以上，但尽管如此，沃尔巴克氏体感染与稍低的病毒获毒率相关，而非提升。尽管如此，本研究结果仍表明沃尔巴克氏体具备提升其他韧皮部限制性植物病原物获毒率的潜在可能。