Similarities and spatial variations of bacterial and fungal communities in field rice planthopper (Hemiptera: Delphacidae) populations

Rice planthoppers are notorious plant sap-feeding pests which cause serious damage. While several microbes in rice planthoppers have been broadly characterized, the abundance and diversity of bacteria and fungi in field planthoppers are largely unknown. This study investigated the bacterial and fungal community compositions of Chinese wild rice planthoppersLaodelphax striatellusandSogatella furciferausing parallel 16S rRNA gene amplicon and internal transcribed space region sequencing. The bacteria varied significantly between the species and were partitioned significantly by sex, tissues and host environments in each species. The majority of bacteria were affiliated with the generaWolbachia,Cardinium,RickettsiaandPantoea. The abundance ofWolbachiawas negatively correlated with that ofCardiniumin both planthopper species. Compared with bacteria, the abundance and diversity of fungi did not differ between sexes but both were enriched in the gut. The bacterial community as a whole showed no significant correlation with the fungal community. The majority of fungi were related toSarocladium,Alternaria,Malassezia,AspergillusandCurvularia. A phylogenetic analysis revealed that these fungi were closely related to botanic symbionts or pathogens. Our results provide novel insights into the bacteria and fungi of rice planthoppers.