Abstract: To understand the bacterial diversity and the dominant types of bacteria in the spiraling whitefly, Aleurodicus dispersus Russell, bacterial communities present in both sexes of A. dispersus collected from Psidium guajava in Hainan were characterized using 16S rDNA-polymerase chain reaction-denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (PCR-DGGE) and 16S rRNA gene clone libraries. The partial bacterial 16S rRNA gene fragment was amplified with PCR, and the clone libraries were constructed. Polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) was performed by digestion of the 16S rRNA gene, and each unique restriction fragment polymorphism pattern was designated as an operational taxonomic unit (OTU). A total of 10 OTUs were identified from samples of both sexes of A. dispersus. Phylogenetic trees of bacterial 16S rRNA nucleotide sequences were constructed. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that Zymobacter, Arsenophonus, Pantoea, and Pseudomonas are the most dominant groups in both male and female adults of A. dispersus. Candidatus Portiera aleyrodidarum and Arsenophonus sp., possibly the endosymbionts of A. dispersus, were detected in all samples. These bacteria may play synergetic roles in development, reproduction and sex-ratio control of the whitefly.

Key words: Aleurodicus dispersus, genomic DNA, 16S rRNA gene library, polymerase chain reaction-denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (PCR-DGGE), phylogenetic analysis, operational taxonomic unit (OTU)