Phylogenetic Placement and Evidence for Horizontal Transfer of Wolbachia in Plutella xylostella (Lepidoptera: Plutellidae) and Its Parasitoid, Diadegma insulare (Hymenoptera: lchneumonidae)

• Published in: Canadian entomologist 2010-01, Vol.142 (1), p.57-64
• Main Authors: Batista, Philip D., Keddie, B. Andrew, Dosdall, Lloyd M., Harris, Harriet L.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Biodiversity and evolution / Biodiversité et évolution; Biological and medical sciences; Biological control; Biological evolution; Control; Entomology; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Genetics of eukaryotes. Biological and molecular evolution; Insects; Phylogenetics; Phytopathology. Animal pests. Plant and forest protection; Protozoa. Invertebrates
• ISSN: 0008-347X; 1918-3240
• DOI: 10.4039/n09-050

The diamondback moth, Plutella xylostella (L.), is a global pest of cruciferous crops (Brassicaceae). It has developed resistance to virtually all known insecticides, and biological control has become an important management tool. In North America the parasitoid Diadegma insulare (Cresson) has been used successfully to reduce diamondback moth populations. We document the presence of the α-proteobacterial endosymbiont Wolbachia and its associated bacteriophage WO in P. xylostella and D. insulare and examine the phylogenetic relationships of Wolbachia and WO in both host species. Our results suggest that Wolbachia and WO have been horizontally transferred in this insect—parasitoid system in recent evolutionary history. Knowledge of the dynamics of Wolbachia in P. xylostella and D. insulare may be an important factor in future control of this pest in the field.