In:
Entomologia Experimentalis et Applicata, Wiley, Vol. 153, No. 1 ( 2014-10), p. 1-9
Abstract:
Mealybugs are sap‐feeding insect pests that pose a serious threat to horticulture. The citrus mealybug, P lanococcus citri ( R isso) ( H emiptera: P seudococcidae), like most other mealybug species, harbours two obligate maternally transmitted bacterial endosymbionts, which are essential for nutrient acquisition and host survival. These are ‘ C andidatus T remblaya princeps’, a member of the β‐ P roteobacteria, and ‘ C andidatus M oranella endobia’, a member of the γ‐ P roteobacteria. The density of symbionts in the hosts is now understood to be dynamic, being influenced by the age and gender of the host and by environmental conditions during development. Here, we examine the impact of short‐term heat stress treatment on the obligate symbionts and life‐history parameters of P . citri , using qPCR to measure changes in symbiont density. Heat stress killed juveniles and adult males, and significantly reduced levels of ‘ C a . M oranella endobia’ and ‘ C a . T remblaya princeps’ in adult females. However, adult females were resilient to this and it did not affect their fecundity or brood survival, although the sex ratio of their brood was slightly, but significantly, more female biased. Our results suggest that ‘ C a . T remblaya princeps’ and ‘ C a . M oranella endobia’ are not as essential to the survival of adult mealybugs as they are to the survival of immature mealybugs and that sub‐lethal heat treatment alone is unlikely to be effective as a disinfestation tactic.
Type of Medium:
Online Resource
ISSN:
0013-8703
,
1570-7458
DOI:
10.1111/eea.2014.153.issue-1
Language:
English
Publisher:
Wiley
Publication Date:
2014
detail.hit.zdb_id:
2015286-3
SSG:
12
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