Loop-mediated isothermal amplification of PBAN gene for molecular diagnosis of Bemisia tabaci biotype Q (Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae)

Abstract

• LAMP assay for PBAN of the whitefly was developed. • The PBAN-based LAMP primer set showed specific amplification of the target region. • The PBAN-based LAMP assay can be applicable for monitoring B. tabaci biotype Q. The tobacco whitefly, Bemisia tabaci (Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae), is a serious pest that transmits tomato yellow leaf curl virus (TYLCV) in tomato. The tobacco whitefly exhibits morphological similarity with the greenhouse whitefly, Trialeurodes vaporariorum (Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae) which also damages various plants in the greenhouse. Therefore, it is very important to quickly and accurately diagnose whiteflies for applying pest management strategies. In this study, we used a loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) assay to quickly and effectively detect B. tabaci . Primer sets were investigated for the specificity of B. tabaci by visible detection of the target DNA fragment. Two primer sets for pheromone biosynthesis activating neuropeptide (PBAN) gene were obtained from transcriptomic analysis of B. tabaci biotype Q. The PBAN-based LAMP primer set showed specific amplification of the target region. The optimal conditions for B. tabaci detection were 60 °C for 60 min with four LAMP primers of PBAN. The minimum amount of genomic DNA required for visible detection was 100 ng. These results suggest that the PBAN-based LAMP assay can be applicable for field monitoring of B. tabaci .