Fourth International Bemisia Workshop International Whitefly Genomics Workshop
The Effect of Begomoviruses on Whitefly Fitness
1 University of Florida/IFAS, Department of Plant Pathology, Gainesville, FL, USA. Correspondence: jep@ufl.edu
2 Bayer Cropscience, Tampa, FL, USA
The fitness of the whitefly Bemisia tabaci, biotype B, on virus-free tomato plants was compared to the fitness of those inoculated with Tomato yellow leaf curl virus (TYLCV) or Tomato mottle virus (ToMoV), begomoviruses which infect tomato. The fecundity (number of eggs oviposited) of B. tabaci on cabbage, a non-host for either virus, was similar regardless of whether whiteflies were reared on virus-free tomatoes, ToMoV or TYLCV-infected tomatoes. However, begomovirus-infected tomatoes affected both development and reproduction parameters of whiteflies which were reared on cabbage and then allowed to oviposit on virus-free and virus-infected tomatoes. Both fecundity and fertility of whiteflies were significantly higher on virus-free tomatoes than on ToMoV- or TYLCV-infected tomatoes. TYLCV-infected tomatoes had the lowest number of eggs oviposited and the lowest percent of eggs hatched. Moreover, the development time of whiteflies from egg to adulthood was shorter on virus-free plants than the development time of whiteflies on begomovirus-infected tomatoes. These preliminary results suggest that neither begomovirus has a direct positive or negative impact on the fitness of their whitefly vector. The effect of begomoviruses on whitefly fitness and life history appears to be indirect, and more a consequence of the reduced suitability of the host plant for whitefly development and reproduction.