Biodiversity, bugs, and barcodes: the Cicadellidae associated with grassland and phytoplasmas in the Sabana de Bogota, Colombia

The leafhoppers (Cicadellidae) are a diverse and cosmopolitan group of Hemiptera that feed on plants, and occasionally cause losses due to the direct damage they inflict to their hosts, or by transmission of viruses and phytoplasmas. Phytoplasmas are plant pathogenic bacteria that can adversely affect many plant families. In the Sabana de Bogota, Colombia, several species of urban trees, potatoes, and strawberry crops are affected by phytoplasma diseases. The family Cicadellidae contains the largest number of known vectors of phytoplasmas, but in Colombia, knowledge of their biology is scarce. The objective of this work was to characterize the diversity of Cicadellidae associated with kikuyu grass Cenchrus clandestinus (Hochst. ex Chiov.) Morrone (Poaceae) in the grasslands of the Sabana de Bogota, at an urban site of the Universidad Nacional de Colombia and a semirural site at the Universidad Militar Nueva Granada, located in Bogota and Cajica, Colombia, respectively. Species richness, abundance, and cicadellid dominance were compared for the 2 sampling sites, using alpha and beta diversity estimators. In total, 3,334 leafhoppers were collected, represented by subfamilies Deltocephalinae (82.3%), Cicadellinae (15.8%), Aphrodinae (1.2%), lassinae (0.6%), ldiocerinae (0.03%), and Typhlocybinae (0.03%). Of the 15 leafhopper species present, 6 were identified to the species level. DNA barcodes were established for 12 morphotypes, including 6 species and 6 superior taxa by amplification of the COI gene. In both locations, the sampling effort was deemed insufficient. Species richness at Universidad Militar Nueva Granada was greater (n = 13) than at Universidad Nacional de Colombia (n = 10), but abundance was higher at Universidad Nacional de Colombia (n = 1,982) than at Universidad Militar Nueva Granada (n = 1,352). The 2 most abundant species were Amplicephalus funzaensis Linnavuori and Exitianus atratus Linnavuori (both Hemiptera: Cicadellidae), both recorded as vectors of phytoplasmas. Other common leafhopper species in collections were Haldorus sp. and Dalbulus sp. (both Hemiptera: Cicadellidae) and are considered possible phytoplasma vectors. Because C. clandestinus is host to several cicadellid species, it may play an important role in the epidemiology of phytoplasma transmission in the Sabana de Bogota.