title: Wolbachia Affects Reproduction and Population Dynamics of the Coffee Berry Borer (Hypothenemus hampei): Implications for Biological Control.
abstract: Wolbachiaare widely distributed endosymbiotic bacteria that influence the reproduction and fitness of their hosts. In recent years the manipulation ofWolbachiainfection has been considered as a potential tool for biological control. The coffee berry borer (CBB),Hypothenemus hampei, is the most devastating coffee pest worldwide.Wolbachiainfection in the CBB has been reported, but until now the role ofWolbachiain CBB reproduction and fitness has not been tested. To address this issue we reared the CBB in artificial diets with and without tetracycline (0.1% w/v) for ten generations. Tetracycline reduced significantly the relative proportion ofWolbachiain the CBB microbiota from 0.49% to 0.04%. This reduction affected CBB reproduction: females fed with tetracycline had significantly fewer progeny, lower fecundity, and fewer eggs per female. Tetracycline also reduced the population growth rate (λ), net reproductive rate (R₀), and mean generation time (T) in CBB; the reduction in population growth was mostly due to variation in fertility, according to life time response experiments (LTREs) analysis. Our results suggest thatWolbachiacontribute to the reproductive success of the CBB and their manipulation represents a possible approach to CBB biocontrol mediated by microbiome management.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, University of Puerto Rico-Río Piedras, San Juan, PR 00931, USA. yandreamarinoc@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Yobana A
authors.initials: YA
authors.lastname: Mariño
authors.affiliation: Center for Excellence in Quarantine and Invasive Species, Agricultural Experimental Station-Río Piedras, Department of Agroenvironmental Sciences, University of Puerto Rico-Mayagüez, 1193 Calle Guayacán, San Juan, PR 00926, USA. jose_carlos@mac.com.
authors.forename: José C
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Verle Rodrigues
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, University of Puerto Rico-Río Piedras, San Juan, PR 00931, USA. bayman.upr@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Paul
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Bayman
keywords: Hypothenemus hampei; Wolbachia; biological control; coffee; coffee berry borer; population dynamics; sex ratio