Identification of the B, Q, and native Brazilian biotypes of the Bemisia tabaci species complex using Scar markers

Abstract

Abstract: The objective of this work was to develop sequence-characterized amplified region (Scar) markers to identify the B, Q, and native Brazilian biotypes of the sweet potato whitefly [Bemisia tabaci (Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae)]. Random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) amplification products, exclusive to the B and Brazilian biotypes, were selected after the analysis of 12,000 samples, in order to design a specific Scar primer set. The BT-B1 and BT-B3 Scar markers, used to detect the B biotype, produced PCR fragments of 850 and 582 bp, respectively. The BT-BR1 Scar marker, used to identify the Brazilian biotype, produced a PCR fragment of 700 bp. The Scar markers were tested against the Q biotype, and a flowchart was proposed to indicate the decision steps to use these primers, in order to correctly discriminate the biotypes. This procedure allowed to identify the biotypes that occur in field samples, such as the B biotype. The used set of primers allowed to discriminate the B, Q, and native Brazilian biotypes of B. tabaci. These primers can be successfully used to identify the B biotype of B. tabaci from field samples, showing only one specific biotype present in all cultures.

Keywords

• Aleyrodidae
• commodities
• field samples
• molecular marker
• sweet potato whitefly.