title: An intracellular symbiont and other microbiota associated with field-collected populations of sawflies (Hymenoptera: Symphyta).
abstract: Six species of sawfly (Hymenoptera: Symphyta) from four taxonomic families (Agridae, Diprionidae, Pamphiliidae, and Tenthredinidae) were collected from locations across Canada and surveyed for their associated microbiota. Total DNA was extracted from individual insects, and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was used to amplify the conserved 16S rRNA gene from microbiota. Denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) and restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) were undertaken to separate bacterial clones associated with the host insect. Sequencing of the PCR-DGGE and PCR--RFLP products revealed a dominance of alpha- and gamma-Proteobacteria, with most sequences showing high similarity to bacteria previously identified from other insect species and environmental samples. Additionally, a strain of the bacterial endosymbiont Wolbachia and a Wolbachia bacteriophage were identified from the mountain ash sawfly (Pristiphora geniculata).
authors.affiliation: Population Ecology Group, Faculty of Forestry and Environmental Management, University of New Brunswick, Fredericton, NB E3B6C2, Canada.
authors.forename: Robert I
authors.initials: RI
authors.lastname: Graham
authors.forename: Viviane
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Zahner
authors.forename: Christopher J
authors.initials: CJ
authors.lastname: Lucarotti
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001419:Bacteria / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D018407:Bacterial Physiological Phenomena; D001435:Bacteriophages / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D002170:Canada; D006927:Hymenoptera / Q000382:microbiology*; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010802:Phylogeny; D012150:Polymorphism, Restriction Fragment Length; D013559:Symbiosis; D020577:Wolbachia / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000502:physiology / Q000821:virology