Differential Transmission of Old and New World Begomoviruses by Middle East-Asia Minor 1 (MEAM1) and Mediterranean (MED) Cryptic Species of <em>Bemisia tabaci</em>

Saurabh Gautam; Habibu Mugerwa; James W. Buck; Bhabesh Dutta; Tim Coolong; Scott Adkins; Rajagopalbabu Srinivasan

doi:10.3390/v14051104

Viruses (May 2022)

Differential Transmission of Old and New World Begomoviruses by Middle East-Asia Minor 1 (MEAM1) and Mediterranean (MED) Cryptic Species of <em>Bemisia tabaci</em>

Saurabh Gautam,
Habibu Mugerwa,
James W. Buck,
Bhabesh Dutta,
Tim Coolong,
Scott Adkins,
Rajagopalbabu Srinivasan

Affiliations

Saurabh Gautam: Department of Entomology, University of Georgia, 1109 Experiment Street, Griffin, GA 30223, USA
Habibu Mugerwa: Department of Entomology, University of Georgia, 1109 Experiment Street, Griffin, GA 30223, USA
James W. Buck: Department of Plant Pathology, University of Georgia, 1109 Experiment Street, Griffin, GA 30223, USA
Bhabesh Dutta: Department of Plant Pathology, University of Georgia, 3250 Rainwater Road, Tifton, GA 31793, USA
Tim Coolong: Department of Horticulture, University of Georgia, 3250 Rainwater Road, Tifton, GA 31793, USA
Scott Adkins: United States Department of Agriculture-Agricultural Research Service, U.S. Horticultural Research Laboratory, Fort Pierce, FL 34945, USA
Rajagopalbabu Srinivasan: Department of Entomology, University of Georgia, 1109 Experiment Street, Griffin, GA 30223, USA

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/v14051104
Journal volume & issue: Vol. 14, no. 5
p. 1104

Abstract

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Middle East-Asia Minor 1 (MEAM1) and Mediterranean (MED) are two of the most invasive members of the sweetpotato whitefly, Bemisia tabaci, cryptic species complexes and are efficient vectors of begomoviruses. Bemisia tabaci MEAM1 is the predominant vector of begomoviruses in open-field vegetable crops in the southeastern United States. However, recently B. tabaci MED also has been detected in the landscape outside of greenhouses in Florida and Georgia. This study compared the transmission efficiency of one Old-World (OW) and two New-World (NW) begomoviruses prevalent in the southeastern United States, viz., tomato yellow leaf curl virus (TYLCV), cucurbit leaf crumple virus (CuLCrV), and sida golden mosaic virus (SiGMV) between B. tabaci MEAM1 and B. tabaci MED. Bemisia tabaci MEAM1 efficiently transmitted TYLCV, CuLCrV, or SiGMV, whereas B. tabaci MED only transmitted TYLCV. Percent acquisition and retention of OW TYLCV following a 72 h acquisition access period was significantly higher for B. tabaci MED than B. tabaci MEAM1. In contrast, B. tabaci MEAM1 acquired and retained significantly more NW bipartite begomoviruses, CuLCrV or SiGMV, than B. tabaci MED. Quantitative analysis (qPCR) of virus DNA in whitefly internal tissues revealed reduced accumulation of CuLCrV or SiGMV in B. tabaci MED than in B. tabaci MEAM1. Fluorescent in situ hybridization (FISH) showed localization of CuLCrV or SiGMV in the midgut of B. tabaci MED and B. tabaci MEAM1. However, localization of CuLCrV or SiGMV was only observed in the primary salivary glands of B. tabaci MEAM1 and not B. tabaci MED. TYLCV localization was observed in all internal tissues of B. tabaci MEAM1 and B. tabaci MED. Overall, results demonstrate that both B. tabaci MEAM1 and B. tabaci MED are efficient vectors of OW TYLCV. However, for the NW begomoviruses, CuLCrV and SiGMV, B. tabaci MEAM1 seems to a better vector.

Published in Viruses

ISSN: 1999-4915 (Online)
Publisher: MDPI AG
Country of publisher: Switzerland
LCC subjects: Science: Microbiology
Website: http://www.mdpi.com/journal/viruses

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