Whitefly Bemisia Tabaci Research Paper

The whitefly Bemisia tabaci is a destructive worldwide insect that has profoundly impacted agriculture in Arizona and California. It is a highly polyphagous species that is capable of feeding on hundreds of plant species. The diversity of crops grown year-round in the Southwest creates an ideal environment for B. tabaci to flourish, often resulting in damaging infestation of melons, cotton, and broccoli. B. tabaci also transmits plant viruses such as Cucurbit Yellows Stunting Disorder Virus, or CYSDV, greatly exacerbating its pest potential.
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