Transcriptome data reveal beneficial effects of Rickettsia ( Rickettsiales: Rickettsiaceae ) on Bemisia tabaci (Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae) through nutritional factors and defense mechanisms

作者：Yi‐Han Li, Jing Peng, Qingjun Wu, Jingchen Sun, Pengjun Zhang, Bao‐Li Qiu · 发表于：Journal of Economic Entomology · 年份：2024 · DOI：10.1093/jee/toae066 · 被引用次数：11 · 研究领域：Insect symbiosis and bacterial influences、Insect-Plant Interactions and Control、Insect Resistance and Genetics

Whitefly Bemisia tabaci (Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae) is a destructive insect pest of many crops. Rickettsia infection in different cryptic species of B. tabaci has been observed worldwide. Understanding the interactions between these 2 organisms is critical to developing Rickettsia-based strategies to control B. tabaci and thereby reduce the transmission of related vector-borne viruses. In this study, we investigated the effects of Rickettsia infection on the biological characteristics of the Middle East Asia Minor 1 (MEAM1) strain of B. tabaci through biological analysis of infected and uninfected individuals. The results of this study suggest that Rickettsia may confer fitness benefits. These benefits include increased fertility, improved survival rates, accelerated development, and resulted in female bias. We also investigated the transcriptomics impact of Rickettsia infection on B. tabaci by performing a comparative RNA-seq analysis of nymphs and adult females, both with and without the infection. Our analysis revealed 218 significant differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in infected nymphs compared to uninfected ones and 748 significant DEGs in infected female adults compared to their uninfected whiteflies. Pathway analysis further revealed that Rickettsia can affect many important metabolic pathways in whiteflies. The results suggest that Rickettsia plays an essential role in energy metabolism, and nutrient synthesis in the B. tabaci MEAM1, and depends on metabolites obtain...