Sex affects the infection frequencies of symbionts in Bemisia tabaci

Abstract

While biotype, host plant and geographical location are known to affect the infection dynamics of the six secondary symbionts (S-symbionts) including Hamiltonella, Arsenophonus, Cardinium, Wolbachia, Rickettsia and Fritschea in Bemisia tabaci, it remains unclear whether sex of B. tabaci has an impact on the infection frequencies of the six S-symbionts. To address this issue, gene-specific PCR were conducted to screen for the presence of the six S-symbionts in five host plant-adapted laboratory sub-populations with the same genetic background. Significant variations were exhibited in the infection rates of Rickettsia, Cardinium, Rickettsia + Hamiltonella (RH), Rickettsia + Cardinium (RC), Hamiltonella + Cardinium (HC) and Rickettsia + Hamiltonella + Cardinium (RHC) among the five host plant-adapted sub-populations. Moreover, Rickettsia, Hamiltonella, Cardinium, RH, RC, HC and RHC were present at a significantly higher frequency in the females than in the males of the five host plant-adapted sub-populations. This indicates that sex is another important factor affecting the population dynamics of S-symbionts in B. tabaci.

Keywords: :

• Bemisia tabaci
• host plant
• population dynamics
• sex
• symbiont

Disclosure of Potential Conflicts of Interest

No potential conflicts of interest were disclosed.

Acknowledgements

This research was supported by the National Science Fund for Distinguished Young Scholars (31025020), the 973 Program (2009CB119200), and the Key Laboratory of Biology and Genetic Improvement of Horticultural Crops, Ministry of Agriculture, China.