Prevalence of Endosymbionts in Bemisia tabaci Populations and Their In Vivo Sensitivity to Antibiotics

Abstract

Bemisia tabaci can harbor both primary and secondary endosymbionts, and the specific endosymbionts can differ among different B. tabaci biotypes. This study determined (1) the prevalence of the primary endosymbiont Portiera aleyrodidarum and secondary endosymbionts Arsenophonus and Wolbachia in two invasive biotypes (B and Q) and one indigenous biotype (Cv) in China and (2) the in vivo effect of three antibiotics (tetracycline, ampicillin trihydrate, and rifampicin) against the endosymbionts; if an antibiotic substantially inhibits an endosymbiont, it could be used to determine the effect of that endosymbiont on B. tabaci. P. aleyrodidarum and Wolbachia were detected in all the three biotypes, while Arsenophonus was found only in the Q and Cv biotypes. P. aleyrodidarum was found in all tested individuals of the three biotypes. Infection rates of Wolbachia in the B, Cv, and Q biotypes were 58, 68, and 48%, respectively. The infection rate of Arsenophonus was 44% in the Q biotype but only 22% in the Cv biotype. The antibiotics failed to eliminate P. aleyrodidarum from any individual of the B, Cv, and Q biotypes but eliminated the secondary endosymbionts, Arsenophonus and Wolbachia, from 50 to 80% of the adult B. tabaci. The effect of the antibiotics depended on the species of endosymbiont, the antibiotic, the B. tabaci biotype, and various interactions between these factors. When used against Arsenophonus, the efficiency of rifampicin was better than ampicillin and tetracycline, regardless of B. tabaci biotype. When inactivating Wolbachia in Cv and Q biotypes, the efficiency tetracycline was better than ampicillin and rifampicin, and while the efficiency of tetracycline was better than rifampicin and ampicillin when they were used against Wolbachia in B biotype.

The Intracellular Bacterium Wolbachia Uses Parasitoid Wasps as Phoretic Vectors for Efficient Horizontal Transmission

“…Whitefly species identity was confirmed using mtCOI sequences [51,52]. From each survey, 20 whitefly adults from each subcolony were selected randomly for PCR-based detection of Wolbachia following the methods of Ahmed et al [53]. Briefly, Wolbachia was detected using primers for the wsp , ftsZ and 16S rRNA genes.…”

“…Seven days later, the number of nymphs that were parasitized (larval parasitoids are visible in whitefly hosts), the number of nymphs that were subjected to the insertion of an ovipositor but survived, and nymphs that were parasitized but died were recorded. Meanwhile, the emerged whiteflies and parasitoids were both collected for Wolbachia detection by PCR following the methods of Ahmed et al [53]. All the transmission experiments were done at 26.0±0.5°C, 70–80% relative humidity, 14:10 h of L:D photoperiod, and the four repeats were replicated contemporaneously.…”

Microbe-Dependent and Nonspecific Effects of Procedures To Eliminate the Resident Microbiota from Drosophila melanogaster

“…For this reason, the use of protocols using antibiotics to eliminate specific bacteria, e.g., Wolbachia, delays the ability to perform experiments on insects for multiple generations after antibiotic treatment (33). It has been assumed that the nonspecific deleterious effects of tetracyclines and other antibiotics are insignificant at concentrations of Յ100 g ml Ϫ1 , and 50 g ml Ϫ1 is widely used to remove bacteria from insects used for study within a single generation (18,35). This study demonstrates that, for Drosophila, this supposition is invalid.…”

Fluorescence in situ hybridization analysis of endosymbiont genera reveals novel infection patterns in a tomato-infesting Bemisia tabaci population from Brazil

“…Specificity of stained samples was confirmed by using the following internal controls: RNAse digested samples, samples containing only hybridization solution without probe, and samples without any treatment. Antibiotic treatments cannot eliminate secondary endosymbionts in a specific manner and they also induce adverse effects on the insect host fitness (Ahmed et al 2010;Ruan et al 2006). Therefore, controls with antibiotic treatments were not employed in our experimental whitefly population.…”