Section: New Results

Cardinium cBtQ1 providing insights into genome reduction, symbiont motility, and its settlement in Bemisia tabaci

Many insects harbor inherited bacterial endosymbionts. Although some of them are not strictly essential and are considered facultative, they can be a key to host survival under specific environmental conditions, such as parasitoid attacks, climate changes, or insecticide pressures. The whitefly Bemisia tabaci is at the top of the list of organisms inflicting agricultural damage and outbreaks, and changes in its distribution may be associated to global warming. In partnership with the group of Andrès Moya at the ICBiBE (Institut Cavanilles de Biodiversitat i Biologia Evolutiva), the genome of Cardinium cBtQ1, a facultative bacterial endosymbiont of B. tabaci, was sequenced and analysed [23] .