Distribution and phylogeny of bacterial endosymbiont Wolbachia in the wild populations of Bactrocera and Zeugodacus sp. (Diptera: Tephritidae) from India

Tephritid fruit flies are the serious insect pest of fruits, vegetables and flower crops.Various control strategies have been used for the control of fruit fly.Wolbachia is a group of obligatory, intracellular and maternallyinherited bacteria widely present in insects and has significance as an incompatible insect technique for pest control.In the present study, the wild populations of Bactrocera and Zeugodacus sp. were collected from 13 locations in India by using pheromone traps.Total genomic DNA of individual male fruit fly samples was extracted and Wolbachia prevalence was assessed through Wolbachia specific 16S rRNA gene analysis.The variable Wolbachia infection rates were observed in six different species of tephritid fruit fly samples obtained from different regions.The average Wolbachia infection was 62.9% (Zeugodacus tau), 57.1% (Bactrocera dorsalis), 52.07%(Zeugodacus cucurbitae) followed by 47.8% and 8.5% in Bactrocera correcta and Bactrocera zonata populations respectively.While, no infection was observed in Zeugodacus caudatus.Phylogenetic analysis revealed supergroup-A of Wolbachia is present in wild Bactrocera and Zeugodacus sp.The prevalence of Wolbachia and identifying strains in fruit fly species could facilitate in designing suitable pest management strategies.