Abstract
BACKGROUND
In insects, little is known about the co‐evolution between their primary endosymbionts and hosts at the intraspecific level. This study examined co‐diversification between the notorious agricultural pest
Diaphorina citri
and its primary endosymbionts (P‐endosymbiont), ‘
Candidatus
Carsonella ruddii’ at the population level.
RESULTS
Maximum likelihood, haplotype network, principal components and Bayesian clustering identified three lineages for
D. citri
and its P‐endosymbiont: a Western clade containing individuals from Pakistan, Bhutan (Phuentsholing), Vietnam (Son La), USA, Myanmar and China (Ruili, Yunnan); a Central clade, with accessions originating from Southwest China, Bhutan (Tsirang) and Bangladesh; and an Eastern clade containing individuals from Southeast Asia, and East and South China. A more diverse genetic structure was apparent in the host mitochondrial DNA than their P‐endosymbionts; however, the two sets of data were strongly congruent.
CONCLUSION
This study provides evidence for the co‐diversification of
D. citri
and its P‐endosymbiont during the migration from South Asia to East and Southeast Asia. We also suggest that the P‐endosymbiont may facilitate investigations into the genealogy and migration history of the host. The biogeography of
D. citri
and its P‐endosymbiont indicated that
D. citri
colonized and underwent a secondary dispersal from South Asia to East and Southeast Asia. © 2018 Society of Chemical Industry