In
aphids, hormesis and symbiotic bacteria are the drivers for
the development of pesticide resistance. However, the related mechanism
remains unclear. Here, we evaluated the sublethal and transgenerational
effects of the extensively used pyrethroid pesticide deltamethrin
(DMT) on the population dynamics in Aphis gossypii and tested its influence on symbiotic bacterial communities. The
leaf-dip bioassay revealed that DMT was highly toxic to A. gossypii, and at a low lethal concentration of
DMT, the intrinsic (r) and finite rates of increase
(λ) of the initially exposed aphids (G0) significantly decreased.
Intriguingly, the r, λ, and net reproductive
rate (R
0) of G1 and G2 significantly increased,
but the r and λ decreased in G3. The adult
and total preoviposition period increased in G3 but decreased in G4.
Additionally, the diversity of the bacterial community decreased,
while the abundance values of Buchnera, Pseudomonadaceae, and Burkholderiaceae increased after 24 h of
exposure to LC30 DMT in G0 aphids, and the latter two decreased
in G1 but increased in G2. In summary, sublethal DMT has intergenerational
hormesis effect on cotton aphids in G1–G2 and remarkably altered
their symbiotic bacterial community and abundance. These results broaden
our understanding of the relationship of hormesis and symbiotic bacteria
in aphids under insecticide exposure.