Determination of endosymbiont bacteria in whitefly (Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae) populations in greenhouse tomato fields in antalya province

Tobacco whitefly (Bemisia tabaci) (Gennadius) and Greenhouse whitefly (Trialeurodes vaporariorum) (Westwood) (Aleyrodidae), which have a wide host range, are among the most important plant protection problems in agricultural areas all over the world and in our country. In this study, the infection status of Wolbachia, Rickettsia, and Arsenophonus endosymbiont bacteria in whitefly populations collected from tomato plants grown under cover in Antalya province was determined by molecular methods. For this purpose, T. vaporariorum and B. tabaci populations were collected from the Alanya, Manavgat, Serik, Aksu, and Kumluca districts of Antalya. The presence and abundance of Wolbachia, Rickettsia and Arsenophonus in the collected whitefly samples were determined by PCR reaction. While the presence of three symbionts, Wolbachia, Arsenophonus, and Rickettsia, was determined in B. tabaci and T. vaporariarum in studies conducted worldwide, these three symbionts were determined only in B. tabaci in our country and no study was conducted in whiteflies belonging to T. vaporariarum species. While 36% Wolbachia, 32% Rickettsia and 68% Arsenophonus were detected in T. vaporariorum populations, 28% Wolbachia, 40% Rickettsia and 52% Arsenophonus were detected in B. tabaci populations. As a result, this is the first study conducted in T. vaporariorum populations in our country and a high rate of infection was determined. In various insect groups, several different endosymbiont species are commonly found in the same host. In a study conducted in whitefly populations in the world, Wolbachia and Rickettsia endosymbionts were found to compete with each other in co-infected individuals, but no previous study has been conducted in Turkey. In our study, when multiple infections were examined in B. tabaci and T. vaporariorum populations, it was observed that Wolbachia and Rickettsia found together in a single individual had an antagonistic relationship.