Establishment of the cytoplasmic incompatibility-inducing Wolbachia strain wMel in an important agricultural pest insect

The wMel Wolbachia strain was known for cytoplasmic incompatibility (CI)-induction and blocking the transmission of dengue. However, it is unknown whether it can establish and induce CI in a non-dipteran host insect. Here we artificially transferred wMel from Drosophila melanogaster into the whitefly Bemisia tabaci. Fluorescence in situ hybridisation demonstrated that wMel had successfully transfected the new host. Reciprocal crossing was conducted with wMel-transfected and wild-type isofemale lines, indicating that wMel could induce a strong CI without imposing significant cost on host fecundity. We then determined the maternal transmission efficiency of wMel in the offspring generations, showing a fluctuating trend over a period of 12 generations. We thus detected the titre of wMel during different developmental stages and in different generations by using real-time quantitative PCR, revealing a similar fluctuating mode, but it was not significantly correlated with the dynamics of transmission efficiency. These results suggest that wMel can be established in B.tabaci, a distantly related pest insect of agricultural importance; moreover, it can induce a strong CI phenotype in the recipient host insect, suggesting a potential for its use in biological control of B. tabaci.