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Genetic Status and Endosymbionts Diversity of Bemisia tabaci (Gennadius) on Hosts Belonging to Family Malvaceae in India

  • Ecology, Behavior and Bionomics
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Abstract

A study was instigated to examine the genetic status and distribution of known endosymbionts namely Portiera, Rickettsia, Wolbachia, Cardinium, and Arsenophonus in the populations of Bemisia tabaci (Gennadius) from three host plants: cotton (Gossypium herbaceum), okra (Abelmoschus esculentus L.), and China rose (Hibiscus rosa-sinensis) belonging to the family Malvaceae. The presence of four secondary endosymbionts Rickettsia, Wolbachia, Cardinium, and Arsenophonus was checked in Bemisia tabaci populations. Phylogenetic analyses grounded on the mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase I gene (mtCO1) unveiled the presence of Asia 1, Asia II 1, and Asia II 7 genetic groups for Bemisia tabaci on abovementioned crops. Individuals were examined for symbiotic bacterial infection with specific primers amplifying the 16S rRNA gene for Portiera, Rickettsia, Cardinium, and Wolbachia, and the 23S rRNA gene for Arsenophonus. The results show that Portiera was present in all the Bemisia tabaci samples. However, variations were noted in the circulation frequencies of secondary endosymbionts among the Bemisia tabaci populations. A significant difference was noticed in the distribution frequency of Rickettsia between cotton and China rose or okra with their p values as 0.016 and 0.033 respectively. The uneven incidence of secondary endosymbionts ropes the assumption that each endosymbiotic bacterium not only has a role in the endurance but may contribute to the polyphagous nature of Bemisia tabaci. It also brings an uncomplicated evidence for progressive studies on control measures of this notorious insect pest.

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Acknowledgments

The authors are very grateful to Dr. V. V. Ramamurthy [Rtd. Professor] of the Division of Entomology at I.A.R.I, New Delhi, India, and Mrs. Asha Gaur [Chief Technical Officer] at I.A.R.I, New Delhi, India, for their helpful comments, suggestions, and discussion to accomplish this research work.

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TRH and NMM conceived and designed experiments. TRH and SRD contributed to field work, performed the experiment, and analyzed data. NMM and RP contributed reagents/materials/analysis tools/editing of the manuscript. TRH and AA wrote the manuscript.

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Correspondence to T R Hashmi.

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Hashmi, T.R., Devi, S.R., Ahmad, A. et al. Genetic Status and Endosymbionts Diversity of Bemisia tabaci (Gennadius) on Hosts Belonging to Family Malvaceae in India. Neotrop Entomol 48, 207–218 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13744-018-0639-y

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