Complete Genome Sequence of “Candidatus Portiera aleyrodidarum” BT-QVLC, an Obligate Symbiont That Supplies Amino Acids and Carotenoids to Bemisia tabaci
ABSTRACT The genome of “ Candidatus Portiera aleyrodidarum,” the primary endosymbiont of the whitefly Bemisia tabaci (Mediterranean species), is reported. It presents a reduced genome (357 kb) encoding the capability to synthetize, or participate in the synthesis of, several amino acids and carotenoids, being the first insect endosymbiont capable of supplying carotenoids.
First record of Pachycrepoideus vindemmiae (Rondani) (Hymenoptera: Pteromalidae) parasitizing pupae of Ceratitis capitata (Wiedemann) (Diptera: Tephritidae) in Tunisia
The Mediterranean fruit fly (Medfly), Ceratitis capitata (Wiedemann) (Diptera : Tephritidae), isone of the most devastating pests of fruits and vegetables worldwide (Liquido et al. 1991; Chueca et al. 2007). It is the most invasive species of all members of the Tephritidae (Zucchi 2001) and a key pest of citrus and other fruits in the Mediterranean countries, including Tunisia (Enkerlin & Mumford 1997; Jerraya 2003). Serious economic damage is caused by this insect in Tunisia; in mixed fruit cultivation crop losses can be from 80 to 100% (Jerraya 2003). Citrus is the most affected host crop, with direct annual losses attributed to C. capitata of up to 38% of annual income from Tunisian citr…
The Genome of Cardinium cBtQ1 Provides Insights into Genome Reduction, Symbiont Motility, and Its Settlement in Bemisia tabaci
International audience; Many insects harbor inherited bacterial endosymbionts. Although some of them are not strictly essential and are considered facultative, they can be a key to host survival under specific environmental conditions, such as parasitoid attacks, climate changes, or insecticide pressures. The whitefly Bemisia tabaci is at the top of the list of organisms inflicting agricultural damage and outbreaks, and changes in its distribution may be associated to global warming. In this work, we have sequenced and analyzed the genome of Cardinium cBtQ1, a facultative bacterial endosymbiont of B. tabaci and propose that it belongs to a new taxonomic family, which also includes Candidatu…
Genetic diversity of Iberian populations ofBemisia tabaci(Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae) based on random amplified polymorphic DNA-polymerase chain reaction
The genetic structure of six Iberian populations of the whitefly Bemisia tabaci, two of them biotype Q, one biotype B, and the other three a mixture of both, has been studied using random amplified polymorphic DNA-polymerase chain reaction (RAPD-PCR). A total of 336 individuals was completely discriminated by means of 234 scored bands. Separate analyses of molecular variance of haploid males and diploid females using the pairwise number of differences between haplotypes showed that biotypes contribute significantly more to the observed variability than populations within biotypes. On average, gene flow between two biotypes of the same population is lower than between populations of identica…