Transmission of Tomato Yellow Leaf Curl Virus by two invasive biotypes and a Chinese indigenous biotype of the whitefly Bemisia tabaci

The global invasion of certain Bemisia tabaci biotypes provides opportunities to compare the competency of virus transmission between invasive and indigenous biotypes. Here we report on the acquisition, retention and transmission of Tomato Yellow Leaf Curl Virus (TYLCV) by the invasive B, Q and indigenous ZHJ2 biotypes of B. tabaci from Zhejiang, China. For all whitefly biotypes, TYLCV DNA was detected within a 30-min acquisition access period (AAP) to infected leaves. The percentage of adults with viral DNA increased with the length of AAP and reached 100% after 10–12 h. Following acquisition, viruliferous B, Q and ZHJ2 adults retained TYLCV DNA for the rest of their lives. Transmission was achieved with one B/Q adult per plant at the frequency of 50–55%, which rose to 100% with 10 insects per plant. In contrast, transmission of the virus was not observed with one ZHJ2 adult per plant in the experiments, and the transmission frequency rose to only 30–45% when whitefly adults increased to 5–10 per plant. These new data will help in the determination of the pest status of the whitefly biotypes as virus vectors in the regions of invasion, and so help in the development of management strategies.