1st Edition

Insect Symbiosis, Volume 2

Edited By Kostas Bourtzis, Thomas A. Miller Copyright 2006
    300 Pages 4 Color & 57 B/W Illustrations
    by CRC Press

    Summarizing current knowledge on symbiotic organisms in the biology of insects, Insect Symbiosis, Volume IIdescribes the diversity of symbiotic bacteria associated with pests such as whiteflies, aphids, mealybugs, psyllids, and tsetse flies. The book illustrates how symbiosis research has important ramifications for evolutionary biology, physiology, parasitology, genetics, and animal behavior and is especially relevant to the control of agricultural and disease-carrying pests.

    In this second volume, a few repeat authors describe brand new aspects of their research, while a new group covers recently developing aspects of symbiotic relationships. The book includes updated information on Wolbachia biology and how it influences insect life, supplies two new examples of using symbionts in crop protection, and discusses the recent “bug in a bug” mealy bug case. The book provides analysis and synthesis of cutting-edge research in insect symbiosis that sheds light on the evolution of the host/symbiont relationship, and in turn, on the general study of evolution, physiology, and genetics.

    Diversity of Prokaryote–Insect Associations within the Sternorrhyncha (psyllids, whiteflies, aphids, mealybugs), P. Baumann
    An Alpha-Proteobacterium Invades the Mitochondria of the Tick Ixodes ricinus, N. Lo, T. Beninati, L. Sacchi, and C. Bandi
    Inherited Bacteroidetes Symbionts in Arthropods, M.S. Hunter and E. Zchori-Fein
    Complexity of Insect–Fungal Associations: Exploring the Influence of Microorganisms on Attine Ant–Fungus Symbiosis, M. Poulsen and C.R. Currie
    The Evolutionary Origin and Maintenance of the Mutualistic Symbiosis Between Termites and Fungi, D.K. Aamen and K.K. Boomsma
    Mollicutes Associated with Arthropods and Plants, E.-D. Ammar and S.A. Hogenhout
    A Newly Discovered Virus Manipulates Superparasitism Behavior in a Parasitoid Wasp, J. Varaldi, S. Gandon, A. Rivero, S. Patot, and F. Fleury
    Symbiont Culture, A.C. Darby and S.C. Welburn
    Comparative Genomics in Buchnera aphidicola, Primary Endosymbiont of Aphids, A. Latorre and A. Moya
    Wolbachia Genomics: Accelerating Our Understanding of a Pervasive Symbiosis, J.C. Brownlie and S.L. O’Neill
    The Role of Wolbachia in the Biology and Pathogenesis of Filari, J.D. Turner, J.M. Foster, M. Ganatra, B.E. Slatk, and M.J. Taylor
    Paternal Sex Ratio Chromosomes in Parasitoid Wasps: An Overview of the Ins and Outs of These Extremely Selfish B chromosomes, J.J.F.A. van Vugt, H. de Jong, and R. Stouthamer
    Insecticidal Bacterial Effectors from Symbionts of Insect-Killing Nematodes, R.H. ffrench-Constant, A. Dowling, and N. Waterfield
    Insect Pest Control Using Wolbachia and/or Radiation, K. Bourtzis and A.S. Robinson
    Paratransgenesis Applied to Control Insect-Transmitted Plant Pathogens: The Pierce’s Disease Case , T. Miller, C. Lauzon, D. Lampe, R. Durvasula, and S. Matthews Index

    Biography

    Kostas Bourtzis, Thomas A. Miller

    Each reader will find chapters to delight him- or herself. … should find a home in every biology library… a solid introduction to students, and extensive reviews of the past 20 years of research for professional investigators. They also will provide hours of enjoyable reading. The books represent the flowering of decades of research by dozens of pioneering scientists, and show how important symbiosis is to the biological sciences. The topic is so rich, and the investigators so productive that the editors could continue to produce a new volume every 3 years, indefinitely. Let’s hope they do.
    —Michael F. Dolan, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, USA, in Symbiosis

    We have a great deal to learn about this planet where animals thrive in symbioses with microorganisms and we can learn much about it here.
    —From the Preface by Lynn Margulis, Distinguished Professor, Department of Geosciences, University of Massachusetts

    Bourtzis … and Miller … present 15 contributions covering such topics as mollicutes associated with arthropods and plants, the evolutionary origin and maintenance of the mutualistic symbiosis between termites and fungi, paternal sex ratio chromosomes in parasitoid wasps, and insect pest control using Wolbachia and/or radiation, among others.
    SciTech Book News, December 2006

    Co-editor Thomas Miller has been awarded the G.J. Mendel Honorary Medal for Merit in the Biological Sciences. By awarding this medal, the Academy Council gives its highest recognition to Dr. Miller’s outstanding achievements, which have been acknowledged worldwide.
    —Academy of  Sciences of the Czech Republic

    This excellent overview of some of the relationships between insects and the various microorganisms that live within them should trigger additional research on the ‘bugs’ of interest to you. The chapters each contain numerous references and excellent illustrations, including color figures in the center of the volume. Run, don’t walk, to get a copy of this book; it just may change how you think about your ‘bugs’
    —Marjorie A. Hoy, University of Florida, Gainesville, USA, in Florida Entomologist 86 (4)