Effect of Cardinium Infection on the Probing Behavior of Bemisia tabaci (Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae) MED

Facultative endosymbionts can affect the growth, physiology, and behavior of their arthropod hosts.There are several endosymbionts in the invasive whitefly Bemisia tabaci Mediterranean (MED, Q biotype) that influence host fitness by altering stylet probing behavior. We investigated the probing behavior of B. tabaci MED infected with the facultative endosymbiont Candidatus Cardinium hertigii (Cardinium (Sphingobacteriales: Flexibacteraceae)). We generated genetically similar Cardinium-infected (C*(+)) and uninfected (C-) clonal sublines and analyzed the probing behavior of newly emerged adult on cotton (Malvales: Malvaceae), Gossypium hirsutum L., using electropenetrography (EPG). The C- subline demonstrated a longer duration of E2 (2.81-fold) and more events of E2 (2.22-fold) than the C*(+) subline, indicating a greater level of sustained ingestion of plant phloem.These findings provide insight into the fitness costs (fitness of a particular genotype is lower than the average fitness of the population) of the Cardinium-infected B. tabaci.

Automated summary

Facultative endosymbionts can influence the growth, physiology, and behavior of their arthropod hosts. In the invasive whitefly Bemisia tabaci Mediterranean, the facultative endosymbiont Candidatus Cardinium hertigii alters stylet probing behavior, resulting in differences in sustained ingestion of plant phloem. These findings offer insights into the fitness costs of Cardinium-infected B. tabaci.