Elham Ghalenoei
1 
, Samin Seddigh
2* , Neda Kheradpir
2, Mojdeh Maleki
3, Hamid Shahbaz Mohammadi
41 Department of Entomology, VaP.C., Islamic Azad University, Varamin, Iran
2 Department of Plant Protection, VaP.C., Islamic Azad University, Varamin, Iran
3 Department of Plant Pathology, VaP.C., Islamic Azad University, Varamin, Iran
4 Non-communicable Diseases Research Center, Research Institute for Prevention of Non-communicable Diseases, Qazvin University of Medical Sciences, Qazvin, Iran
Abstract
Introduction: Microbiome studies of insect organisms are vital in understanding their physiological function and ecological adaptation, yet there is insufficient information on the fungal component in aphids.
Methods: This pilot study provides a preliminary characterization of the bacterial and fungal communities associated with Macrosiphum rosae based on 16S rRNA and ITS amplicon sequencing. Amplicon-based microbial profiling using an Illumina sequencing platform was performed based on 16S rRNA gene sequences and ITS markers obtained from a pooled aphid sample. After quality filtering of the reads, analysis was carried out to classify the microbiomes associated with the aphid samples.
Results: The bacterial community was strongly dominated by the obligate symbiont Buchnera, whereas lower-abundance taxa included Serratia, Candidatus Hemipteriphilus, and Pseudomonas. Phylogenetic analyses of sequences showed that there were clear phylogenetic clusters corresponding to known bacterial lineages. On the other hand, fungi exhibited low diversity and comprised mostly Malassezia restricta and M. arunalokei.
Conclusion: These results show that the bacterial community is dominated by obligate and facultative symbionts, while the diversity of fungi is relatively low. The results, therefore, support the concept of aphids as holobionts. These findings provide an initial baseline for future replicated investigations of aphid-associated microbial communities.