Molecular characterization and localization of the obligate endosymbiotic bacterium in the birch catkin bug Kleidocerys resedae (Heteroptera: Lygaeidae, Ischnorhynchinae)

In contrast to specific bacterial symbionts of many stinkbugs, which are harboured extracellularly in the lumina of midgut sacs or tubular outgrowths, the obligate endosymbiont of birch catkin bug Kleidocerys resedae (Heteroptera: Lygaeidae) resides in a red-coloured, raspberry-shaped mycetome, localized abdominally, close to the midgut section. Phylogenetic analysis, based on the 16S rRNA gene and the groEL (chaperonin) gene, showed that the bacteria belong to the γ-subdivision of the Proteobacteria and revealed a phylogenetic relationship with bacterial endosymbionts of Wigglesworthia glossinidia, the primary symbiont of tse-tse fly Glossina brevipalpis. Furthermore, RFLP analysis and sequencing revealed that K. resedae was also infected by Alphaproteobacteria of the genera Wolbachia and Rickettsia. The distribution and transmission of Kleidocerys endosymbiont in adults and all nymph stages were studied using FISH. The detection of symbionts at the anterior poles of developing eggs indicated that endosymbionts are transmitted vertically to offspring. Ultrastructural examinations by electron microscopy revealed the packed accommodation of rod-shaped bacteria in the cytoplasm of mycetocytes. A new genus and species name, 'Candidatus Kleidoceria schneideri', is proposed for this newly characterized clade of symbiotic bacteria.