The Susceptibility of Bemisia tabaciMediterranean (MED) Species to Attack by a ParasitoidWasp Changes between TwoWhitefly Strains with Different Facultative Endosymbiotic Bacteria
In this study, two strains of the mitochondrial lineage Q1 of Bemisia tabaci MED species, characterized by a different complement of facultative bacterial endosymbionts, were tested for their susceptibility to be attacked by the parasitoid wasp Eretmocerus mundus, a widespread natural enemy of B....
| Autores principales: | , , , , |
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| Formato: | Artículo |
| Lenguaje: | Inglés |
| Publicado: |
MDPI
2024
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| Materias: | |
| Acceso en línea: | https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11939/8856 https://www.mdpi.com/2075-4450/14/10/808 |
| Sumario: | In this study, two strains of the mitochondrial lineage Q1 of Bemisia tabaci MED species,
characterized by a different complement of facultative bacterial endosymbionts, were tested for their
susceptibility to be attacked by the parasitoid wasp Eretmocerus mundus, a widespread natural enemy
of B. tabaci. Notably, the BtHC strain infected with Hamiltonella and Cardinium was more resistant to
parasitization than the BtHR strain infected with Hamiltonella and Rickettsia. The resistant phenotype
consisted of fewer nymphs successfully parasitized (containing the parasitoid mature larva or pupa)
and in a lower percentage of adult wasps emerging from parasitized nymphs. Interestingly, the
resistance traits were not evident when E. mundus parasitism was compared between BtHC and
BtHR using parasitoids originating from a colony maintained on BtHC. However, when we moved
the parasitoid colony on BtHR and tested E. mundus after it was reared on BtHR for four and seven
generations, we saw then that BtHC was less susceptible to parasitization than BtHR. On the other
hand, we did not detect any difference in the parasitization of the BtHR strain between the three
generations of E. mundus tested. Our findings showed that host strain is a factor affecting the ability
of E. mundus to parasitize B. tabaci and lay the basis for further studies aimed at disentangling the role
of the facultative endosymbiont Cardinium and of the genetic background in the resistance of B. tabaci
MED to parasitoid attack. Furthermore, they highlight that counteradaptations to the variation of
B. tabaci defence mechanisms may be rapidly selected in E. mundus to maximize the parasitoid fitness. |
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