Bacterial Symbionts Confer Thermal Tolerance to Cereal Aphids Rhopalosiphum padi and Sitobion avenae

SIMPLE SUMMARY: This study assesses the putative association between the chronic and acute thermal tolerance of cereal aphids Rhopalosiphum padi (L.) and Sitobion avenae (F.) and the abundance of their bacterial symbionts. Thermal tolerance indices were determined for 5-day-old apterous aphid individuals and were associated with the aphid-specific and total bacterial symbionts’ gene abundance (copy numbers). The results show a significantly higher bacterial symbionts’ gene abundance in temperature-tolerant aphid individuals than the susceptible ones for both aphid species. Moreover, the gene abundance of total (16S rRNA) bacteria and most of the aphid-specific bacterial symbionts for both cereal aphid species were significantly and positively associated with their critical thermal maxima values. Overall, the findings of the study suggest the potential role of the bacterial symbionts of aphids in conferring thermal tolerance to their hosts. ABSTRACT: High-temperature events are evidenced to exert significant influence on the population performance and thermal biology of insects, such as aphids. However, it is not yet clear whether the bacterial symbionts of insects mediate the thermal tolerance traits of their hosts. This study is intended to assess the putative association among the chronic and acute thermal tolerance of two cereal aphid species, Rhopalosiphum padi (L.) and Sitobion avenae (F.), and the abundance of their bacterial symbionts. The clones of aphids were collected randomly from different fields of wheat crops and were maintained under laboratory conditions. Basal and acclimated CTmax and chronic thermal tolerance indices were measured for 5-day-old apterous aphid individuals and the abundance (gene copy numbers) of aphid-specific and total (16S rRNA) bacterial symbionts were determined using real-time RT-qPCR. The results reveal that R. padi individuals were more temperature tolerant under chronic exposure to 31 °C and also exhibited about 1.0 °C higher acclimated and basal CTmax values than those of S. avenae. Moreover, a significantly higher bacterial symbionts’ gene abundance was recorded in temperature-tolerant aphid individuals than the susceptible ones for both aphid species. Although total bacterial (16S rRNA) abundance per aphid was higher in S. avenae than R. padi, the gene abundance of aphid-specific bacterial symbionts was nearly alike for both of the aphid species. Nevertheless, basal and acclimated CTmax values were positively and significantly associated with the gene abundance of total symbiont density, Buchnera aphidicola, Serratia symbiotica, Hamilton defensa, Regiella insecticola and Spiroplasma spp. for R. padi, and with the total symbiont density, total bacteria (16S rRNA) and with all aphid-specific bacterial symbionts (except Spiroplasma spp.) for S. avenae. The overall study results corroborate the potential role of the bacterial symbionts of aphids in conferring thermal tolerance to their hosts.