Bacterial symbionts influence host susceptibility to fenitrothion and imidacloprid in the obligate hematophagous bed bug, Cimex hemipterus

Abstract

The use of insecticides remains important in managing pest insects. Over the years, many insects manifested physiological and behavioral modifications resulting in reduced efficacy of insecticides targeted against them. Emerging evidence suggests that bacterial symbionts could modulate susceptibility of host insects against insecticides. Here, we explore the influence of host microbiota in affecting the susceptibility of insect host against different insecticides in the blood-sucking bed bug, Cimex hemipterus. Rifampicin antibiotic treatment resulted in increased susceptibility to fenitrothion and imidacloprid, but not against deltamethrin. Meanwhile, the host fitness parameters measured in the present study were not significantly affected by rifampicin treatment, suggesting the role of bacterial symbionts influencing susceptibility against the insecticides. 16S metagenomics sequencing revealed a drastic shift in the composition of several bacterial taxa following rifampicin treatment. The highly abundant Alphaproteobacteria (Wolbachia > 90%) and Gammaproteobacteria (Yersinia > 6%) in control bed bugs were significantly suppressed and replaced by Actinobacteria, Bacilli, and Betaproteobacteria in the rifampicin treated F1 bed bugs, suggesting possibilities of Wolbachia mediating insecticide susceptibility in C. hemipterus. However, no significant changes in the total esterase, GST, and P450 activities were observed following rifampicin treatment, indicating yet unknown bacterial mechanisms explaining the observed phenomena. Re-inoculation of microbial content from control individuals regained the tolerance of rifampicin treated bed bugs to imidacloprid and fenitrothion. This study provides a foundation for a symbiont-mediated mechanism in influencing insecticide susceptibility that was previously unknown to bed bugs.

Diversity of bacterial symbionts associated with the tropical plant bug Monalonion velezangeli (Hemiptera: Miridae) revealed by high-throughput 16S rRNA sequencing.

“…Insect-infecting Wolbachia strains with major biological effects have been mostly associated with host reproductive disturbances (e.g. CI, parthenogenesis, male-killing and feminization) [43][44][45] and recently with effects on other behavioral and physiological processes, including nutrition, defense and insecticide-resistance [46][47][48][49][50]. In other mirid species, the presence of Wolbachia has been associated with reproductive alterations and nutritional roles.…”

Diversity of bacterial symbionts associated with the tropical plant bug Monalonion velezangeli (Hemiptera: Miridae) revealed by high-throughput 16SrRNA sequencing.

“…Insect-infecting Wolbachia strains with major biological effects have been mostly associated with host reproductive disturbances (e.g. CI, parthenogenesis, male-killing and feminization) (Serbus et al 2008;Werren et al 2008;Kaur et al 2021) and recently with effects on other behavioral and physiological processes, including nutrition, defense and insecticideresistance (Hosokawa et al 2010;Nikoh et al 2014;Zug and Hammerstein 2015;Zhang et al 2020;Soh and Veera 2022). In other mirid species, the presence of Wolbachia has been associated with reproductive alterations and nutritional roles.…”

Historical and Contemporary Control Options Against Bed Bugs,Cimexspp.

“…Resistance mechanisms documented include penetration resistance, metabolic resistance [namely to cytochrome P450 monooxygenases (P450s), esterase, and ATP-binding cassette transporters], and target site insensitivity (kdr) (31,109). Recently, it was found that insecticide susceptibility in C. hemipterus is influenced by the presence of bacterial symbionts (126). Currently, there is no ongoing global monitoring for resistance in bed bugs.…”