Abstract
Bemisia tabaci (sensu latu) is a group of >40 highly cryptic whitefly species that are of global agricultural importance, both as crop pests and plant-virus vectors. Two devastating cassava diseases in East and Central Africa are spread by abundant populations of one of these species termed Sub-Saharan Africa 1 (SSA1). There is a substantive risk that these whitefly-borne pandemics will continue to spread westwards and disrupt cassava production for millions of smallholder farmers in West Africa. We report here, therefore, the first comprehensive survey of cassava B. tabaci in eastern Nigeria, a West African region likely to be the first affected by the arrival of these whitefly-borne pandemics. We found one haplotype comprising 32 individuals with 100% identical mtCO1 sequence to the East African SSA1 populations (previously termed SSA1-SG1) and 19 mtCO1 haplotypes of Sub-Saharan Africa 3 (SSA3), the latter being the most prevalent and widely distributed B. tabaci species in eastern Nigeria. A more divergent SSA1 mtCO1 sequence (previously termed SSA1-SG5) was also identified in the region, as were mtCO1 sequences identifying the presence of the MED ASL B. tabaci species and Bemisia afer. Although B. tabaci SSA1 was found in eastern Nigeria, they were not present in the high abundances associated with the cassava mosaic (CMD) and cassava brown streak disease (CBSD) pandemics of East and Central Africa. Also, no severe CMD or any CBSD symptoms were found in the region.
Highlights
Bemisia tabaci Gennadius is a group of more than 40 morphologically indistinguishable putative whitefly species [1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10]
The Sub-Saharan Africa 3 (SSA3) B. tabaci are the predominant population in eastern Nigeria, which is a key difference to the situation in East Africa
SSA3 B. tabaci have been reported in the West African countries of Benin and Togo, as well as in the Central African Republic [27,29]
Summary
Bemisia tabaci Gennadius (sensu latu) is a group of more than 40 morphologically indistinguishable (cryptic) putative whitefly species [1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10]. Partial sequences of the mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase 1 (mtCO1) gene have been used as the DNA barcode to identify and delimit these species [1], but it is increasingly accepted that an integrative approach to discovering the full diversity of species within Bemisia tabaci is required [2,3,11]. B. tabaci species cause considerable economic damage to crops through, (i) direct leaf damage, (ii) promotion.
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