Managing Super Pests: Interplay between Pathogens and Symbionts Informs Biocontrol of Whiteflies.

ABSTRACT: Bemisia tabaci is distributed globally and incurs considerable economic and ecological costs as an agricultural pest and viral vector. The entomopathogenic fungus Metarhizium anisopliae has been known for its insecticidal activity, but its impacts on whiteflies are understudied. We investigated how infection with the semi-persistently transmitted Cucurbit chlorotic yellows virus (CCYV) affects whitefly susceptibility to M. anisopliae exposure. We discovered that viruliferous whiteflies exhibited increased mortality when fungus infection was present compared to non-viruliferous insects. High throughput 16S rRNA sequencing also revealed significant alterations of the whitefly bacterial microbiome diversity and structure due to both CCYV and fungal presence. Specifically,

SUBMITTER: Yan W 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11123976 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature