“The role of bacterial symbionts in mediating bi-trophic interactions between host and parasitoids in invasive fruit flies”
Country of Study
South Africa
Institution
University of Pretoria
Expected Year of Completion
2024
Thematic Area
Agriculture and Food Security
Education
Rehemah is pursuing her PhD in Zoology and Entomology at the University of Pretoria in South Africa. She has an MSc in Zoology from Anadolu University and will be completing her studies in 2024.
Research Summary
Rehemah’s research aims to unravel the role that B.dorsalis-associated symbiotic-bacteria play in mediating the relationship between this pest and its parasitoids, F.arisanus and D.longicaudata. The invasion and spread of B.dorsalis has negatively affected horticultural production across Africa mainly through direct crop and market lucrative losses, as well as through costs associated with its control. The use of chemical insecticides to control this pest poses great risks to the ecosystem and human health. This has prompted research for sustainable eco-friendly alternatives to insecticides. Such alternatives include parasitoids which are natural enemies of fruit fly pests. However, the success of parasitoids as biocontrol agents is highly dependent on the microbiota of their hosts, which in some instances protect their hosts against parasitoids posing cryptic challenges to the sustainable parasitoid-oriented management of B.dorsalis. Deciphering symbiont-mediated host-parasitoid interactions and the underlying mechanisms will facilitate development of sustainable symbiont-based biocontrol strategies of B.dorsalis.
Publications:
1. Friend or Foe: Symbiotic Bacteria in Bactrocera dorsalis–Parasitoid Associations
2. Differential immune responses in new and old fruit fly-parasitoid associations: Implications for their management
3. Boric acid‐induced immunotoxicity and genotoxicity in model insect Galleria mellonella L. (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae)
