Localization and morphological characterization of obligate endosymbionts of Delphacodes Kuscheli and Dalbulus Maidis, two species of leafhoppers of diseases of maize cultivation in Argentina (hemiptera: auchenorrhyncha)

Authors

  • María Eugenia BRENTASSI División Entomología. Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Museo, UNLP. Paseo del Bosque S/N. La Plata (1900) Provincia de Buenos Aires. Argentina. Investigador Comisión de Investigaciones Científicas de la Provincia de Buenos Aires (CIC), Argentina.
  • Daniela DE LA FUENTE
  • Agustín LAMEIRO

Abstract

Delphacodes kuscheli and Dalbulus maidis are two species of hemipterans auchenorrhynchans of phytosanitary importance that transmit the “Mal de Río Cuarto virus” and the “Corn Stunt Spiroplasma” respectively, diseases which affects maize crop in Argentina. Among hemipterans the presence of obligate endosymbionts (bacterial and/or fungal) that providing of essential amino acids and vitamins necessary for the life cycle of the host is known. The aim of this work is to provide the localization and morphological characterization of the obligate endosymbionts related with both species. The insects were reared in the Bioterio of the División Entomología, Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Museo de La Plata. The observations were made using light and transmission electron microscopy. Adult females were processed using conventional methods of fixation, inclusion and coloration. D. kuscheli harbors eukaryotic organisms, yeast-like symbionts (YLS) in the abdominal fat body and in the posterior pole of the oocytes; at ultrastructural level the main character is the thickness of the cell wall. Endosymbionts of D. maidis are harbored in paired abdominal organs (bacteriomes) formed by uninucleate cells and a syncytial zone where irregular and big bacterium (8-12 µm long) are localized.

Keywords: endosymbionts, corn, Delphacodes kuscheli, Dalbulus maidis, Argentina.

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How to Cite

BRENTASSI, M. E., DE LA FUENTE, D., & LAMEIRO, A. (2014). Localization and morphological characterization of obligate endosymbionts of Delphacodes Kuscheli and Dalbulus Maidis, two species of leafhoppers of diseases of maize cultivation in Argentina (hemiptera: auchenorrhyncha). Revista Ciencias Morfológicas, 16(1). Retrieved from https://revistas.unlp.edu.ar/Morfol/article/view/845

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