Evidence for a gut microbial community conferring adaptability to diet quality and temperature stressors in phytophagous insects: the melon fruit fly Zeugodacus cucurbitae (Diptera: Tephritidae) as a case study.

Background: The high invasiveness of phytophagous insects is related to their adaptability to various environments, that can be influenced by their associated microbial community. Microbial symbionts are known to play a key role in the biology, ecology, and evolution of phytophagous insects, but their abundance and diversity are suggested to be influenced by environmental stressors. In this work, using 16 S rRNA metabarcoding we aim to verify (1) if laboratory rearing affects microbial symbiont communities of Zeugodacus cucurbitae females, a cosmopolitan pest of cucurbitaceous crops (2) if temperature, diet quality, and antibiotic treatments affect microbial symbiont communities of both laboratory and wild populations, and (3) if changes in microbial symbiont communities due to temperature, diet and antibiotic affect longevity and fecundity of Z.

Parasite and virus dynamics in the honeybee Apis mellifera unicolor on a tropical island recently invaded by Varroa destructor.

In La Réunion, the established honeybee subspecies Apis mellifera unicolor, an endemic subspecies of African lineage, is facing considerable challenges. Since the introduction of the Varroa destructor mite in 2017 high colony losses have been recorded. We investigated the dynamics of V.

Microbiome diversity and composition in Bemisia tabaci SSA1-SG1 whitefly are influenced by their host's life stage.

Within the Bemisia tabaci group of cryptic whitefly species, many are damaging agricultural pests and plant-virus vectors, conferring upon this group the status of one of the world's top 100 most invasive and destructive species, affecting farmers' income and threatening their livelihoods. Studies on the microbiome of whitefly life stages are scarce, although their composition and diversity greatly influence whitefly fitness and development. We used high-throughput sequencing to understand microbiome diversity in different developmental stages of the B.

Bacterial plant pathogens affect the locomotor behavior of the insect vector: a case study of Citrus volkameriana-Triozae erytreae-Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus system.

Plant pathogens can alter the behavior of their insect vectors as well as their survival and reproduction. The African psyllid, Trioza erytreae, is one of the vectors of Huanglongbing, a citrus disease caused mainly by "Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus" (CLas). The purpose of this study was to characterize the effects of CLas on the psyllid, T.