ArticleNeotropical entomology2025
Detection of Wolbachia in Natural Populations of Ceratitis capitata (Wiedemann) (Diptera: Tephritidae) Infesting Argan Fruits in Morocco.
Article in Neotropical entomology, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
2 citing papers in PubMed.
- Wolbachia in Tephritid Populations from Argentina: New Hosts and First Report of Multiple Infections in Rhagoletotrypeta pastranai.Neotropical entomology · 2026Article
- Host-Associated Occurrence of Wolbachia in Natural Populations of the Pyriform Scale Protopulvinaria pyriformis (Cockerell, 1894) in Moroccan Orchards.Neotropical entomology · 2026Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
8 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
The argan tree (Argania spinosa L. Skeels), native to the sub-Saharan region of Morocco, is an endangered agroforestry species renowned for producing one of the world's most expensive and sought-after oils. However, this valuable resource is threatened by the Mediterranean fruit fly (Ceratitis capitata (Wied.)), an invasive pest worldwide. Like other dipteran insects, C. capitata has developed mutualistic interactions with prokaryotic endosymbionts, including Wolbachia, a facultative intracellular bacterium that could play a role in the biology of this pest. Between 2022 and 2024, a field survey was conducted in the argan forests of Agadir, southern Morocco, to detect Wolbachia in natural populations of C. capitata and investigate its potential impact on this pest. A total of eighteen wild type specimens were captured to investigate the endosymbionts of this insect pest. Detection of Wolbachia was carried out by PCR using a primer pair targeting a specific fragment within the cox gene. Amplicons of the expected size were sequenced in both directions, and one sequence was deposited in the GenBank under accession Number PQ285444. Phylogenetic analysis showed that the obtained sequence belongs to the monophyletic clade of the Wolbachia B supergroup, known to infect a variety of insect species. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of the bacterium being detected and characterized in natural populations of the Mediterranean fruit fly infesting argan fruits in the country. These findings open new perspectives for integrated biological control strategies, offering a sustainable alternative to chemical insecticides for managing this insect pest species in Morocco.
Indexed as
Identifiers
40931264What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.