2025/07/14 by Marzieh Kashkouli, Jahangir Khajehali
Agricultural and Biological Sciences · #Entomopathogenic Microorganisms in Pest Control #Insect symbiosis and bacterial influences #Insect-Plant Interactions and Control
paper · pdf · doi:10.1093/jee/toaf136
openalex publication_date 2025/07/14 · openalex created_date 2025/12/13 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28
Bemisia tabaci Gennadius and Trialeurodes vaporariorum Westwood are damaging agricultural pests, with control complicated by their high reproduction and resistance to treatments. This study investigates the effects of antibiotic treatments on the symbiotic bacteria and life history traits of these whitefly species using primer-specific PCRs, quantitative PCRs (qPCRs), and life table analyses. Results revealed that B. tabaci (isolate IUT1) hosts a diverse set of symbionts, including Portiera, Hamiltonella, Arsenophonus, and Rickettsia, while T. vaporariorum (isolate IUT2) carries only Portiera and Arsenophonus. The antibiotic treatments-tetracycline, rifampicin, and a cocktail of ampicillin, cefotaxime, and gentamicin-significantly altered the abundance of specific symbionts, with notable reductions of Rickettsia in B. tabaci and Arsenophonus in T. vaporariorum. In addition, ampicillin, cefotaxime, gentamicin, and tetracycline treatments resulted in significant decreases and increases of Portiera in both whiteflies, respectively. Antibiotic exposure also led to profound effects on whitefly preadult durations, fecundity, life expectancy, and some biological parameters including r, R0, and gross reproductive rate of whiteflies. Specifically, B. tabaci treated with rifampicin lost its ability to mature into adulthood, while T. vaporariorum treated with rifampicin was unable to lay eggs. Furthermore, treatment with ampicillin, cefotaxime, and gentamicin rendered both species of whiteflies incapable of egg-laying. A negative r value was also recorded in B. tabaci following tetracycline treatment. These results highlight the critical role of symbiotic bacteria in whitefly biology and provide insight into the potential consequences of disrupting these associations.