Obligate and facultative symbionts in different populations of the greenhouse whitefly, Trialeurodes vaporariorum (Hem.: Aleyrodidae)

The greenhouse whitefly, Trialeurodes vaporariorum (Westwood), is one of the harmful pests of vegetables and ornamental plants. The high damage caused by this pest has made it necessary to design an integrated pest management (IPM) programs based on biology and its symbiotic relationships. Since the symbionts of greenhouse whiteflies are less known so far in Iran, their diversity in different pest populations has been investigated in the upcoming research. For this purpose, sampling was done from contaminated greenhouses and fields of Isfahan province. Then, DNA extraction and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) were performed to assess the presence/absence of symbionts, sequencing of target genes, and molecular identification of the whitefly species. Also, the cotton whitefly, Bemisia tabaci (Gennadius), was used as a control in different stages. The target species was identified as T. vaporariorum based on the morphology and cytochrome oxidase one (COI) gene sequence. Examining the diversity of symbionts showed the presence of Portiera sp. and Arsenophonus sp. in all collected populations. Hamiltonella sp. and Rickettsia sp. were detected in all populations except Kholenjan and Bagh Abrisham. Cardinium sp. has been observed in the population of Yafran and Fritschea sp. was detected in the populations of Khomeini Shahr, Nasim Abad, Kholenjan, Bagh Abrisham, and Yafran, while Wolbachia was not detected in any of the populations. Considering the lack of information about the symbiotic diversity of the greenhouse whitefly and also the lack of studies in Iran, this research can be a basis for further studies in the field of symbiosis and to recognize the role of symbionts.