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Lampyridae (Coleoptera): A plethora of mollicute associations

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Abstract

Beetles (Coleoptera) harbor many species ofAcholeplasma andSpiroplasma (division Tenericutes, class Mollicutes). Mollicutes were isolated from guts and/or hemocoels of firefly beetles (Lampyridae) from the United States (Maryland and West Virginia), Ecuador, and Tobago. Firefly beetles were frequent hosts for the group XIV spiroplasma, isolated from Ellychnia corrusca, and the group XIX spiroplasma, isolated fromPhoturis spp. The most unusual feature of the firefly-mollicute association is the carriage of four Mycoplasma species. Recent phylogenetic studies indicate that these species are members of a clade that includes a vertebrate pathogen,Mycoplasma mycoides. The high rate of occurrence ofMycoplasma species (which are, otherwise, infrequent in insects) in lampyrid beetles suggests that the association is significant. The unusual light-producing physiology of lampyrids (which is dependent on large pools of energy) and the production of large amounts of cardenolides from cholesterol (a critical growth factor for many mollicutes) may favor colonization by mollicutes.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Insect Biocontrol Laboratory, Plant Protection Institute, Agricultural Research Service, USDA, Building 011 A, Room 214, 20705, Beltsville, Maryland

    K. J. Hackett, R. F. Whitcomb, R. B. Henegar, E. A. Clark & J. L. Vaughn

  2. Mycoplasma Section, Laboratory of Molecuar Microbiology, National Institute of Alllergy and Infectious Diseases, Frederick Cancer Research Facility, 21701, Frederick, Maryland

    J. G. Tully & D. L. Roset

  3. Department of Entomology and Nematology, University of Florida, 32611, Gainesville, Florida

    J. E. Lloyd

  4. Department of Entomology, University of Maryland, 29742, College Park, Maryland, USA

    J. J. Anderson & T. B. Clark

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  1. K. J. Hackett
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  2. R. F. Whitcomb
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Hackett, K.J., Whitcomb, R.F., Tully, J.G. et al. Lampyridae (Coleoptera): A plethora of mollicute associations. Microb Ecol 23, 181–193 (1992). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00172639

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00172639

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