Original paper
Wolbachia-mediated fitness enhancement and reproductive manipulation in the South American tomato pinworm, Tuta absoluta
Wu, Bing-Xuan; Tian, Jia; Zhou, Yu-Hao; Ning, Xu-Yan; Zhang, Yi-Bo; Hong, Xiao-Yue; Bing, Xiao-Li
Entomologia Generalis Volume 45 Number 5 (2025), p. 1407 - 1418
published: Nov 18, 2025
published online: Aug 20, 2025
manuscript accepted: Jul 5, 2025
final revised version received: Jun 20, 2025
manuscript revision requested: Apr 30, 2025
manuscript received: Apr 10, 2025
Open Access (paper may be downloaded free of charge)
Abstract
Abstract: The South American tomato pinworm, Tuta absoluta (Lepidoptera: Gelechiidae), is a globally invasive pest that causes important damage to solanaceous crops. T. absoluta is commonly infected with the endosymbiont Wolbachia; however, the roles of Wolbachia in T. absoluta is largely unknown. This study investigated Wolbachia in T. absoluta through multi-level analyses. Microbiota analysis revealed dynamic shifts in the bacterial community across host developmental stages, with Enterobacteriaceae and Wolbachia (strain wTabs) dominating the microbiome. Phylogenetic analysis classified wTabs as a supergroup B strain (sequence type ST41) with > 90% infection rate in T. absoluta populations. Fluorescence in situ hybridization localized wTabs in both digestive and reproductive tissues, where its density progressively increased during host development. Compared to uninfected controls, wTabs infection significantly altered life history traits of T. absoluta: it accelerated embryonic development, shortened pupal duration, and extended the lifespan of adult males and unmated females. Notably, wTabs-infected females exhibited significantly higher fecundity and wTabs-infected males induced strong cytoplasmic incompatibility (CI) when mated with wTabs-uninfected females, as evidenced by a 40% reduction in egg hatchability in the CI cross compared to control crosses. Genomic analysis identified the putative cytoplasmic incompatibility factor genes cifA and cifB in the wTabs genome, providing mechanistic insights into CI induction. Our study provides the first comprehensive evidence of the multifaceted effects of Wolbachia in T. absoluta, paving the way for potential symbiont-based pest management strategies.
Keywords
cytoplasmic incompatibility • reproduction • endosymbiosis • microbiota composition • vertical transmission • reproductive manipulation • developmental fitness • host–microbe interaction