The gut symbiont Sphingomonas mediates imidacloprid resistance in the important agricultural insect pest Aphis gossypii Glover.

Our findings suggest that the gut symbiont Sphingomonas, with detoxification properties, could offer an opportunity for insect pests to metabolize imidacloprid. These findings enriched our knowledge of mechanisms of insecticide resistance and provided new symbiont-based strategies for control of insecticide-resistant insect pests with high Sphingomonas abundance.