El Hamss, Hajar, Ghosh, Saptarshi, Maruthi, M.N. ORCID: 0000-0002-8060-866X, Delatte, H and Colvin, John (2021) Microbiome diversity and reproductive incompatibility induced by the prevalent endosymbiont Arsenophonus in two species of African cassava Bemisia tabaci whiteflies. Ecology and Evolution, 11 (24). ISSN 2045-7758 (Print), 2045-7758 (Online) (doi:https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.8400)

Preview

PDF (Author's accepted manuscript (AAM)) 34381_MARUTHI_Microbiome diversity and reproductive incompatibility.pdf - Accepted Version Available under License Creative Commons Attribution. Download (211kB) | Preview

Abstract

A minimum of thirteen diverse whitefly species belonging to the Bemisia tabaci (B. tabaci) species complex are known to infest cassava crops in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), designated as SSA1-13. Of these, the SSA1 and SSA2 are the predominant species colonising cassava crops in East Africa. The SSA species of B. tabaci harbour diverse bacterial endosymbionts, many of which are known to manipulate insect reproduction. One such symbiont, Arsenophonus is known to drive its spread by inducing reproductive incompatibility in its insect host and are abundant in SSA species of B. tabaci. However, whether Arsenophonus affects the reproduction of SSA species is unknown. In this study, we investigated both the reproductive compatibility between Arsenophonus infected and uninfected whiteflies by inter/intra-specific crossing experiments involving the sub-group 3 haplotypes of the SSA1 (SSA1-SG3), SSA2 species, and their microbial diversity. The number of eggs, nymphs, progenies produced, hatching rate, survival rate were recorded for each cross. In intra-specific crossing trials, both male and female progenies were produced and thus demonstrated no reproductive incompatibility. However, the total number of eggs laid, nymphs hatched, and the emerged females were low in the intraspecies crosses of SSA1-SG3A+, indicating the negative effect of Arsenophonus on whitefly fitness. In contrast, the inter-species crosses between the SSA1-SG3 and SSA2 produced no female progeny and thus demonstrated reproductive incompatibility. The relative frequency of other bacteria colonising the whiteflies was also investigated using Illumina sequencing of 16S rDNA and diversity indices were recorded. Overall, SSA1-SG3 and SSA2 harboured high microbial diversity with more than 137 bacteria discovered. These results described for the first time the microbiome diversity and the reproductive behaviours of intra/inter species of Arsenophonus in whitefly reproduction which is crucial for understanding the invasion abilities of cassava whiteflies.

Item Type:	Article
Uncontrolled Keywords:	cross, whitefly, SSA1, SSA1-SG3, Arsenophonus and 16s rDNA
Subjects:	Q Science > QL Zoology S Agriculture > S Agriculture (General)
Faculty / School / Research Centre / Research Group:	Faculty of Engineering & Science Faculty of Engineering & Science > Natural Resources Institute Faculty of Engineering & Science > Natural Resources Institute > Agriculture, Health & Environment Department Faculty of Engineering & Science > Natural Resources Institute > Plant Health Research Group
Last Modified:	22 Sep 2023 08:09
URI:	http://gala.gre.ac.uk/id/eprint/34381

Actions (login required)

View Item

Downloads