Bacterial Communities of the Internal Reproductive and Digestive Tracts of Virgin and Mated Tuta absoluta

SIMPLE SUMMARY: Tuta absoluta is a worldwide quarantine pest that is highly reproductive and adaptable to the environment, infesting leaves with larvae that can damage a wide range of tomato crops. The microbial community in the insect also changes in response to mating and egg laying. Both reproductive system microorganisms and gut microorganisms can affect the growth and development of the host insects and their ability to mate and reproduce. In this study, we analyzed the bacterial communities in reproductive tissues, gut tissues, and eggs using 16S rRNA, restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis, and QIIME2 dada2 sequencing. Although the diversity of the bacterial communities did not change significantly after male and female mating, this reflects the importance of these genera. In addition, Enterobacter Kobei was found in the reproductive organs of males after mating, but its effect on the tomato leafminer needs to be further investigated. Overall, these findings provide a basis for analyzing the potential of tomato leafminer invasion from a microbial perspective and provide new ideas and techniques for designing microbial biocontrol technologies. ABSTRACT: Microorganisms can affect host reproduction, defense, and immunity through sexual or opportunistic transmission; however, there are few studies on insect reproductive organs and intestinal bacterial communities and their effects on mating. Tuta absoluta is a worldwide quarantine pest that seriously threatens the production of Solanaceae crops, and the microbial community within tomato leafminers remains unclear. In this study, 16s rRNA sequencing was used to analyze bacterial communities related to the reproductive organs and intestinal tracts of tomato leafminers (the sample accession numbers are from CNS0856533 to CNS0856577). Different bacterial communities were found in the reproductive organs and intestinal tracts of females and males. Community ecological analysis revealed three potential signs of bacterial sexual transmission: (1) Mating increased the similarity between male and female sex organs and intestinal communities. (2) The bacteria carried by mated individuals were found in unmated individuals of the opposite sex but not in unmated individuals of the same sex. (3) The bacteria carried by unmated individuals were lost after mating. In addition, the abundances of bacterial communities carried by eggs were significantly higher than those of adult worms. Our results confirm that mating leads to the transfer of bacterial communities in the reproductive organs and gut of tomato leafminers, and suggest that this community strongly influences the reproductive process.