Zchori-Fein, E., Ben-Dov, Y., Portnoy, V., & Katzir, N. 2005 Distribution of the endosymbiont Cardinium hertigii in scale insects (Hemiptera: Coccoidea).. Proceedings of the X International Symposium on Scale Insect Studies, held at Plant Protection Research Institute, Adana/ Turkey, 19-23 April 2004. Adana Zirai Muscadele Arastirma Enstitusu. Adana, Turkey 408 pp.

Notes: ABSTRACT: Cardinium hertigii, a recently described bacterium from the Bacteroidetes group, is involved in diverse reproduction alterations of its arthropod hosts, including cytoplasmic incompatibility, parthenogenesis, and feminization. Random screenings of arthropods revealed that Cardinium is present in mites (Acari), Parasitoid wasps (Hymenoptera) and a number of Hemiptera species such as armored scale insects and cicadas. To estimate the incidence rate of Cardinium within the Coceoidea and Aphidoidea, 33 samples of scale insects and one sample of aphids were screened, using primers designed to amplify a portion of Cardinium 16S rDNA. These samples were also screened for the presence of Wolbachia, another bacterium which induces sex ratio distortion in arthropods. Of the 14 Diaspididae species screened, 4 tested positive for Cardinium, and only one for Wolbachia. None of the 4 Coecidae species, 3 Pseudococcidae species, and single representative species of each of the Margarodidae, Asterolecaniidae and Kermesidae tested, revealed the presence of Cardinium, while one pseudococcid was found to carry Wolbachia; the aphid species proved negative for both Cardinium and Wolbachia. A phylogenetic analysis shows that distantly related scale insects can harbor closely related symbionts, a pattern typical of horizontal transmission. In addition, the primers used revealed the presence of a second lineage of Bacteroidet cs symbionts, not related to Cardinium, in two species of Diaspididae. This second symbiont lineage is similar. to other arthropod symbionts, such as Blattabactcrium, the primary symbionts of cockroaches. The data suggest the presence of a diverse assemblage of Diaspididae-assoeiated Bacteroidetes bacteria which, together with other symbionts, are likely to strongly influence their hosts' biology.