Differential temporal changes of primary and secondary bacterial symbionts and whitefly host fitness following antibiotic treatments.
Where multiple symbionts coexist in the same host, the selective elimination of a specific symbiont may enable the roles of a given symbiont to be investigated. We treated the Mediterranean species of the whitefly Bemisia tabaci complex by oral delivery of the antibiotic rifampicin, and then examined the temporal changes of its primary symbiont "Candidatus Portiera aleyrodidarum" and secondary symbiont "Ca. Hamiltonella defensa" as well as host fitness for three generations. In adults treated with rifampicin (F0), the secondary symbiont was rapidly reduced, approaching complete disappearance as adults aged. In contrast, the primary symbiont was little affected until later in the adult life. In the offspring of these adults (F1), both symbionts were significantly reduced and barely detectable when the hosts reached the adult stage. The F1 adults laid few eggs (F2), all of which failed to hatch. Mating experiments illustrated that the negative effects of rifampicin on host fitness were exerted via female hosts but not males. This study provides the first evidence of differential temporal reductions of primary and secondary symbionts in whiteflies following an antibiotic treatment. Studies that disrupt functions of bacterial symbionts must consider their temporal changes.
Ministry of Agriculture Key Laboratory of Agricultural Entomology, Institute of Insect Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China.
Chang-Rong
CR
Zhang
Ministry of Agriculture Key Laboratory of Agricultural Entomology, Institute of Insect Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China.
Hong-Wei
HW
Shan
Ministry of Agriculture Key Laboratory of Agricultural Entomology, Institute of Insect Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China.
Na
N
Xiao
Ministry of Agriculture Key Laboratory of Agricultural Entomology, Institute of Insect Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China.
Fan-Di
FD
Zhang
Ministry of Agriculture Key Laboratory of Agricultural Entomology, Institute of Insect Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China.
Xiao-Wei
XW
Wang
Ministry of Agriculture Key Laboratory of Agricultural Entomology, Institute of Insect Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China.
Yin-Quan
YQ
Liu
Ministry of Agriculture Key Laboratory of Agricultural Entomology, Institute of Insect Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China.
Shu-Sheng
SS
Liu
D000818:Animals; D001419:Bacteria / Q000254:growth & development*; D005260:Female; D006430:Hemiptera / Q000382:microbiology*; D008297:Male; D012293:Rifampin / Q000494:pharmacology; D012727:Sex Characteristics; D013559:Symbiosis / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology*
D012293:Rifampin