Akademik Veri Yönetim Sistemi
2nd International Molecular Plant Protection Congress , Bursa, Türkiye, 15 - 18 Mayıs 2023, ss.29
Encarsia lutea (Masi) (Hymenoptera: Aphelinidae) is one of the most important natural enemies of the silverleaf whitefly, Bemisia tabaci (Gennadius) (Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae). Wolbachia is a genus of bacteria that causes parthenogenesis and reproductive incompatibility in various Hymenopteran species. The objective of this study was to determine the effect of Wolbachia infection on parasitism performance of E. lutea by comparing Wolbachia-infected and uninfected lines. For this purpose, newly emerged female and male E. lutea adults were fed with tetracycline or pure sucrose solution (control) for 24 h. Subsequently, one parasitoid couple was placed on the lower surface of a cotton leaf enclosed in a clip cage, and offered with 40 3rd instar B. tabaci nymphs for 24h. All the female and male adults were collected and placed in pure ethanol to extract DNA for Wolbachia detection. Wolbachia was not completely removed but reduced in tetracycline-fed E. lutea adults with 34.4% infection rate. Although the difference was not statistically significant, higher parasitism rate was obtained in Wolbachia-infected line (31.7%) when compared to Wolbachia-uninfected line (25.8%). Further studies are needed to confirm the impact of Wolbachia to the mosquito vector. Further studies are needed to confirm the effects of Wolbachia on the parasitism performance of E. lutea.