Abstract:

Wolbachia is a maternally inherited bacterium that may manipulate the reproduction of its arthropod hosts. Recent research showed that Wolbachia may have contributed to the success of invasive populations. We reported the survey for the presence of Wolbachia endosymbionts in Bemisia tabaci biotypes (24 different populations) using Long PCR method to amplify the wsp gene. The results showed that there were no Wolbachia in both invasive B. tabaci B biotype and Q biotype, while a strain of Wolbachia was detected in the non B/Q biotype of B. tabaci both from Zhejiang province and Kenya. Sequencing and phylogenetic analysis showed that the strain infesting B. tabaci from Zhejiang province belonged to Con/Rug subgroup of Wolbachia B group, and the strain infesting B. tabaci from Kenya belonged to Btab1 subgroup of Wolbachia B group. The presence or abscence of Wolbachia may be related to successful invasion of B. tabaci.
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Key words: Bemisia tabaci, Wolbachia, wsp gene, biological invasion, phylogenetic analysis