The olive fruit fly, Bactrocera oleae, the most serious pest of olives, requires the endosymbiotic bacteria Candidatus Erwinia dacicola in order to complete its development in unripe green olives. Hence a better understanding of the symbiosis of Ca. E. dacicola and its insect host may lead to new strategies for reduction of B. oleae and thus minimize its economic impact on olive production. Studies of this symbiosis are hampered as the bacterium cannot be grown in vitro and the established B. oleae laboratory populations, raised on artificial diets, are devoid of this bacterium. Here, we sought to develop a method to transfer the bacteria from wild samples to laboratory populations. We tested several strategies. Cohabitation of flies from the field with the laboratory line did not result in a stable transfer of bacteria. We provided the bacteria directly to the egg and also in the food of the larvae but neither approach was successful. However, a robust method for transfer of Ca. E. dacicola from wild larvae or adults to uninfected flies by transplantation to females was established. Single female lines were set up and the bacteria were successfully transmitted for at least three generations. These results open up the possibilities to study the interaction between the symbiont and the host under controlled conditions, in view of both understanding the molecular underpinnings of an exciting, unique in nature symbiotic relationship, as well as developing novel, innovative control approaches.

中文翻译：

---

将细菌共生体 Candidatus Erwinia dacicola 从野生橄榄果蝇 Bactrocera oleae 稳定遗传转移到实验室菌株

橄榄果蝇，实心实心菌，橄榄最严重的害虫，需要内共生细菌候选人Erwinia dacicola 以完成其在未成熟绿橄榄中的开发。从而更好地理解共生关系钙。E. dacicola 及其昆虫宿主可能会导致减少B. oleae从而最大限度地减少其对橄榄生产的经济影响。由于细菌无法生长，因此对这种共生关系的研究受到阻碍体外和既定的B. oleae以人工饮食饲养的实验室种群没有这种细菌。在这里，我们试图开发一种将细菌从野生样本转移到实验室种群的方法。我们测试了几种策略。来自田间的苍蝇与实验室线同居并没有导致细菌的稳定转移。我们将细菌直接提供给卵子和幼虫的食物，但两种方法都没有成功。然而，一种稳健的转移方法钙。建立了从野生幼虫或成虫到未感染苍蝇的 E. dacicola，通过移植到雌性身上。建立了单雌株，细菌成功传播了至少三代。这些结果为在受控条件下研究共生体与宿主之间的相互作用提供了可能性，既要了解令人兴奋的、独特的自然界共生关系的分子基础，又要开发新颖的、创新的控制方法。