Molecular characterization of whitefly on different host plants

Abstract

The objective of this work was to determine the whitefly (Bemisia tabaci Genn.) biotypes that occur in the state of Paraná. For the determination of the biotypes, whiteflies were collected in different host plants during 2016 in 21 cities of the state of Paraná, and molecular biology techniques were used for the analysis of the samples. Total insect DNA extraction was performed with Chelex® 100 resin, followed by PCR amplification of the mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase 1 (mtCOI) gene region. The PCR products were sequenced and analyzed with Mega 7.0.21 software along with the ClustalW2 site. The dendrogram of the samples generated along with the patterns of the other species showed a clustering of all the samples with those of the MEAM1 species (biotype B), being the only species found in the studied regions. The identity of the nucleotides among the whiteflies ranged from 96.94% to 100%. Biotype A was not found in regions where it was previously occurring, probably due to the MEAM 1 species. The whiteflies of the MEAM 1 species (biotype B) were found in 14 different plant species. These results are important in the current scenario of Paraná and could contribute to better efficiency in the management of this pest.