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Updated: Aug 10, 2025
05:24
Determining the Egg Fertilization Rate of Bemisia tabaci Using a Cytogenetic Technique
Published on: April 1, 2019
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A bacteriocyte symbiont determines whitefly sex ratio by regulating mitochondrial function
Ya-Lin Yao1, Xin-Yu Ma1, Tian-Yu Wang1
1Liaoning Key Laboratory of Economic and Applied Entomology, College of Plant Protection, Shenyang Agricultural University, Shenyang 110866, China.
Cell Reports
|February 12, 2023
Summary
The whitefly symbiont Hamiltonella provides folate, essential for host reproduction. This folate regulates histone methylation, impacting ovary mitochondria and determining the whitefly sex ratio.
Area of Science:
- Insect reproductive biology
- Microbial symbiosis
- Epigenetics
Background:
- Nutritional symbionts profoundly impact host reproduction, yet molecular pathways remain elusive.
- The whitefly symbiont Hamiltonella influences Bemisia tabaci sex ratio, synthesizing folate with the host.
- Folate deficiency disrupts sex ratio, while supplementation restores it.
Purpose of the Study:
- To elucidate the molecular mechanisms by which the nutritional symbiont Hamiltonella regulates whitefly host reproduction.
- To investigate the role of symbiont-derived folate in epigenetic modifications and host reproductive fitness.
Main Methods:
- Symbiont elimination and gene silencing in Bemisia tabaci.
- Folate supplementation experiments.
- Histone H3 lysine 9 trimethylation (H3K9me3) analysis via ChIP-seq.
- Assessment of ovary mitochondrial function.
Main Results:
- Hamiltonella deficiency or gene silencing altered H3K9me3 levels, impacting whitefly sex ratio.
- Folate supplementation restored both H3K9me3 levels and the normal sex ratio.
- Symbiont deficiency led to mitochondrial dysfunction in whitefly ovaries, correlating with sex ratio distortion.
Conclusions:
- Symbiont-derived folate regulates host histone methylation, crucial for maintaining ovary mitochondrial function.
- This epigenetic regulation by folate ultimately determines the host whitefly sex ratio.
- Nutritional symbionts can influence animal reproduction through mechanisms distinct from reproductive manipulators.
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