Microbiome diversity in Diaphorina citri populations from Kenya and Tanzania shows links to China

The Asian citrus psyllid (Diaphorina citri) is a key pest ofCitrusspp. worldwide, as it acts as a vector for CandidatusLiberibacter asiaticus (Las), the bacterial pathogen associated with the destructive Huanglongbing (HLB) disease. Recent detection ofD.citriin Africa and reports of Las-associated HLB in Ethiopia suggest that the citrus industry on the continent is under imminent threat. Endosymbionts and gut bacteria play key roles in the biology of arthropods, especially with regards to vector-pathogen interactions and resistance to antibiotics. Thus, we aim to profile the bacterial genera and to identify antibiotic resistance genes within the microbiome of different populations worldwide ofD.citri. The metagenome ofD.citriwas sequenced using the Oxford Nanopore full-length 16S metagenomics protocol, and the What's in my pot (WIMP) analysis pipeline. Microbial diversity within and betweenD.citripopulations was assessed, and antibiotic resistance genes were identified using the WIMP-ARMA workflow. The most abundant genera were key endosymbionts ofD.citri(CandidatusCarsonella, CandidatusProfftella, andWolbachia). The Shannon diversity index showed thatD.citrifrom Tanzania had the highest diversity of bacterial genera (1.92), andD.citrifrom China had the lowest (1.34). The Bray-Curtis dissimilarity showed that China and Kenya represented the most diverged populations, while the populations from Kenya and Tanzania were the least diverged. The WIMP-ARMA analyses generated 48 CARD genes from 13 bacterial species in each of the populations. Spectinomycin resistance genes were the most frequently found, with an average of 65.98% in all the populations. These findings add to the knowledge on the diversity of the AfricanD.citripopulations and the probable introduction source of the psyllid in these African countries.