As with most, if not all insects, B. tabaci is a host to bacterial endosymbionts that potentially influence the biology and interactions of B. tabaci with other organisms and the environment. Primary, or obligate, endosymbionts are essential to the existence of the species they inhabit. They play mutualistic roles in the nutrition of their host insects, especially for phloem feeders such as whiteflies and aphids that ingest excessive amounts of sugars and carbohydrates, but only minimal amounts of nitrogen. They are vertically transmitted from one generation to the next in connection with whitefly reproduction. In whiteflies, the primary endosymbiont is the bacterium Portiera aleyrodidarum. …show more content…
These are known as secondary, or facultative, endosymbionts. In whiteflies, at least six different genera of bacteria have been identified, although not all occur within a single whitefly species or geographic region. For example, in Israel, Hamiltonella has been detected only in the B biotype of B. tabaci, whereas Wolbachia and Arsenophonus are known only from the Q biotype. However, Rickettsia is found in both B and Q