Skip to main content

Table 1 Experimental aims

From: Symbionts in waiting: the dynamics of incipient endosymbiont complementation and replacement in minimal bacterial communities of psyllids

1.

Ascertain the entire bacterial diversity and community composition of individual psyllid specimens from 25 psyllid species.

2.

Demonstrate the presence of Carsonella in each individual.

3.

Identify the dominant S-endosymbionts that may be complementing the role of Carsonella and evolving towards obligate mutualism.

4.

Establish the relative bacterial titre relationships of P- and S-endosymbionts across a subset of seven psyllid species.

5.

Test the previously raised hypothesis that gall-forming species contain a lower diversity of endosymbionts because plant galls may be a more stable nutrient source than unmodified leaf tissue and, more generally, the impact of ecological niche on bacterial community structure.

6.

Test if there are differences in S-endosymbiont incidence and prevalence within psyllid species across locations (including between native and invasive ranges).

7.

Detect potential signatures of incipient symbiont complementation or replacement in terms of loss or acquisition of multiple S-endosymbionts.

8.

Detect potential plant pathogens vectored by psyllid species.