Oak aphids Tuberculatus annulatus (Hartig, 1841) and Thelaxes dryophila (Schrank, 1801) (Hemiptera: Aphididae) endosymbiont microbiome diversity alters between natural and artificial oak forest regeneration

Abstract In the present study, the bacterial symbionts of two species of oak aphid, Thelaxes dryophila and Tuberculatus annulatus were tested as indicators between naturally and artificially regenerated oak forests. In total, 195 bacterial taxa were identified using the Ion Torrent PGM system. Here, we report for the first time differences in bacterial symbiont diversity between oak forests natural and artificial regeneration sites, and aphid species. Differences in the abundance of the primary obligate endosymbiont Buchnera aphidicola were also detected between the two study aphid species. In the ant attended Thelaxes dryophila , the species was found to harbour a higher density of the facultative symbionts Serratia symbiotica and Wolbachia , while in the non-ant attended Tuberculatus annulatus , the dominant facultative symbionts were Hamiltonella and Rickettsia . In addition, we report the presence of Serratia marcescens and Enterobacter cloacae as symbionts of Thelaxes dryophila and Shigella boydii as a symbiont of Tuberculatus annulatus. We conclude that the two aphid species harbour different facultative symbionts between oak forest regeneration types; these results might have importance in oak forest pest management via aphid adaptation through their endosymbions.