2025-11-21 マックス・プランク研究所(MPG)
The reed leafhopper (Pentastiridius leporinus) was listed as “endangered” on Germany’s Red List for a long time. The picture shows the leafhopper on a sugar beet leaf.© Benjamin Weiss, Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology
<関連情報>
- https://www.mpg.de/25761270/reed-leafhopper-from-reeds-to-potatoes
- https://journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/mbio.03103-25
新興害虫のPentastiridius leporinusには、複数のパートナーからなる共生コミュニティが生息している A multi-partner symbiotic community inhabits the emerging insect pest Pentastiridius leporinus
Heiko Vogel, Benjamin Weiss, Fortesa Rama, Andre Rinklef, Tobias Engl, Martin Kaltenpoth, Andreas Vilcinskas
mBio Published:12 November 2025
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1128/mbio.03103-25
ABSTRACT
The planthopper Pentastiridius leporinus has emerged as a severe crop pest, rapidly expanding both its host plant range and the affected areas in central Europe. Originating as a monophagous herbivore of reed grass, P. leporinus recently adopted polyphagous feeding and is now a pest of sugar beet, potato, carrot, and onion, suggesting rapid ecological niche expansion. P. leporinus vectors two bacterial pathogens: the γ-proteobacterium Candidatus Arsenophonus phytopathogenicus (CAP) and the stolbur phytoplasma Candidatus Phytoplasma solani (CPS), which are responsible for a range of disease syndromes, including syndrome basses richesses in sugar beet. We used long-read metagenomic sequencing to characterize the genomes of microbes associated with P. leporinus, resulting in the complete sequences of CAP and CPS, as well as obligate symbionts of the genera Purcelliella, Karelsulcia, and Vidania, and facultative symbionts Rickettsia and Wolbachia. The obligate symbionts are inferred to provide or contribute to the biosynthesis of 10 essential amino acids and to B vitamin. The genomes of CPS and CAP encode numerous pathogenicity factors, enabling the colonization of different hosts. Bacterial fluorescence in situ hybridization revealed the tissue distribution, cellular localization, relative abundance, and transmission patterns of these bacteria. The intracellular presence of all obligate symbionts in bacteriomes, the intracellular presence of Wolbachia, and the intranuclear localization of Rickettsia suggest vertical transmission. CPS was restricted to salivary glands, suggesting strict horizontal, plant-mediated transmission, whereas CAP colonized all tissue types, allowing for horizontal and vertical transmission. Our data suggest that P. leporinus hosts an exceptionally broad range of symbionts, encompassing mutualistic, commensal, and pathogenic interactions.
