title: Sulcia symbiont of the leafhopper Macrosteles laevis (Ribaut, 1927) (Insecta, Hemiptera, Cicadellidae: Deltocephalinae) harbors Arsenophonus bacteria.
abstract: The leafhopper Macrosteles laevis, like other plant sap-feeding hemipterans, lives in obligate symbiotic association with microorganisms. The symbionts are harbored in the cytoplasm of large cells termed bacteriocytes, which are integrated into huge organs termed bacteriomes. Morphological and molecular investigations have revealed that in the bacteriomes of M. laevis, two types of bacteriocytes are present which are as follows: bacteriocytes with bacterium Sulcia and bacteriocytes with Nasuia symbiont. We observed that in bacteriocytes with Sulcia, some cells of this bacterium contain numerous cells of the bacterium Arsenophonus. All types of symbionts are transmitted transovarially between generations. In the mature female, the bacteria Nasuia, bacteria Sulcia, and Sulcia with Arsenophonus inside are released from the bacteriocytes and start to assemble around the terminal oocytes. Next, the bacteria enter the cytoplasm of follicular cells surrounding the posterior pole of the oocyte. After passing through the follicular cells, the symbionts enter the space between the oocyte and follicular epithelium, forming a characteristic "symbiont ball."
authors.affiliation: Department of Developmental Biology and Morphology of Invertebrates, Institute of Zoology, Jagiellonian University, Gronostajowa 9, 30-387, Kraków, Poland.
authors.forename: Michał
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kobiałka
authors.affiliation: Department of Developmental Biology and Morphology of Invertebrates, Institute of Zoology, Jagiellonian University, Gronostajowa 9, 30-387, Kraków, Poland.
authors.forename: Anna
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Michalik
authors.affiliation: Department of Zoology, Faculty of Biology and Environmental Protection, University of Silesia, Bankowa 9, 40-007, Katowice, Poland.
authors.forename: Marcin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Walczak
authors.affiliation: Department of Zoology, Faculty of Biology and Environmental Protection, University of Silesia, Bankowa 9, 40-007, Katowice, Poland.
authors.forename: Łukasz
authors.initials: Ł
authors.lastname: Junkiert
authors.affiliation: Department of Developmental Biology and Morphology of Invertebrates, Institute of Zoology, Jagiellonian University, Gronostajowa 9, 30-387, Kraków, Poland. teresa.szklarzewicz@uj.edu.pl.
authors.forename: Teresa
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Szklarzewicz
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D004755:Enterobacteriaceae / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D005260:Female; D006430:Hemiptera / Q000382:microbiology* / Q000502:physiology; D008297:Male; D009865:Oocytes / Q000382:microbiology / Q000502:physiology; D010053:Ovary / Q000382:microbiology; D010802:Phylogeny; D011044:Poland; D013559:Symbiosis
keywords: Arsenophonus; Bacteriocytes; Deltocephalinae; Nasuia; Sulcia; Symbiotic microorganisms