Corn leaf aphid, Rhopalosiphum maidis (Fitch) (Hemiptera: Aphididae) population expansion influenced by endosymbiotic bacterial diversity along a gradient of maize management and climate conditions

Csorba, Artúr Botond, Dinescu, Sorina, Pircalabioru, Gratiela Gradisteanu, Fora, Ciprian G., Loxdale, Hugh D. and Balog, Adalbert 2025. Corn leaf aphid, Rhopalosiphum maidis (Fitch) (Hemiptera: Aphididae) population expansion influenced by endosymbiotic bacterial diversity along a gradient of maize management and climate conditions. Symbiosis 95 (3) , pp. 363-374. 10.1007/s13199-025-01054-1

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Abstract

In the present study, corn leaf aphid population expansion along a gradient of 200,000 square kilometers was tested under four different maize management systems and climatic regions, and the influence of these factors on the aphids’ endosymbiotic bacterial community composition (both obligate and facultative) assessed. The central question posited was whether there was a correlation between corn leaf aphid distribution and variation in its endosymbiotic bacterial species composition due to climate change. After a detailed symbiont assessment, it was found that climate was the major factor in determining endosymbionts distribution (> 80%). A significant positive linear correlation was shown to exist between the infestation rate (number of infected maize fields) and increasing frequency of two facultative endosymbiotic bacteria, Serratia symbiotica and Wolbachia, both under high and low temperature conditions, whilst the opposite trend was observed in the case of the obligate endosymbiont, Buchnera aphidicola. From these findings, we reveal for the first time that clear and strong relationships exist between the increase in corn leaf aphid populations along a large geographic area in relation to climatic change and the increase of S. symbiotica and Wolbachia, yet at the same time, with a concomitant decrease of B. aphidicola populations. We conclude that this scenario may well explain the recent rapid expansion of the corn leaf aphid in– and damage to– European maize fields.

Item Type:	Article
Date Type:	Published Online
Status:	Published
Schools:	Schools > Biosciences
Additional Information:	License information from Publisher: LICENSE 1: URL: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/, Type: open-access
Publisher:	Springer
ISSN:	0334-5114
Date of First Compliant Deposit:	27 May 2025
Date of Acceptance:	15 April 2025
Last Modified:	27 May 2025 15:00
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/178544

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