Sex affects the infection frequencies of symbionts in Bemisia tabaci

While biotype, host plant and geographical location are known to affect the infection dynamics of the six secondary symbionts (S-symbionts) including Hamiltonella, Arsenophonus, Cardinium, Wolbachia, Rickettsia and Fritschea in Bemisia tabaci, it remains unclear whether sex of B. tabaci has an impact on the infection frequencies of the six S-symbionts. To address this issue, gene-specific PCR were conducted to screen for the presence of the six S-symbionts in five host plant-adapted laboratory sub-populations with the same genetic background. Significant variations were exhibited in the infection rates of Rickettsia, Cardinium, Rickettsia + Hamiltonella (RH), Rickettsia + Cardinium (RC), Hamiltonella + Cardinium (HC) and Rickettsia + Hamiltonella + Cardinium (RHC) among the five host plant-adapted subpopulations. Moreover, Rickettsia, Hamiltonella, Cardinium, RH, RC, HC and RHC were present at a significantly higher frequency in the females than in the males of the five host plant-adapted sub-populations. This indicates that sex is another important factor affecting the population dynamics of S-symbionts in B. tabaci.