Skip to main content
ARS Home » Southeast Area » Charleston, South Carolina » Vegetable Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #325775
Title: Transcriptomics-guided development of RNA interference strategies to manage whiteflies: a globally distributed vector of crop viruses

Author
item HASEGAWA, DANIEL - Boyce Thompson Institute
item CHEN, WENBO - Boyce Thompson Institute
item ZHENG, YI - Boyce Thompson Institute
item Kaur, Navneet
item Wintermantel, William - Bill
item Simmons, Alvin
item FEI, ZHANGJUN - Boyce Thompson Institute
item Ling, Kai-Shu

Submitted to: International Congress of Entomology
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 5/16/2016
Publication Date: 8/22/2016
Citation: Hasegawa, D.K., Chen, W., Zheng, Y., Kaur, N., Wintermantel, W.M., Simmons, A.M., Fei, Z., Ling, K. 2016. Transcriptomics-guided development of RNA interference strategies to manage whiteflies: a globally distributed vector of crop viruses. XXV International Congress of Entomology. Orlando, Florida, USA. September 25-30, 2016. doi:10.1603/ICE.2016.112694.

Interpretive Summary: N/A

Technical Abstract: Over 300 viruses are transmitted by the whitefly, Bemisia tabaci, with 90% of them belonging to the genus, Begomovirus. Begomoviruses are exclusively transmitted by whiteflies to a range of agriculture crops, resulting in billions of dollars lost annually, while jeopardizing food security worldwide. Several begomoviruses have emerged as being especially devastating, including Tomato yellow leaf curl virus (TYLCV). Although the use of pesticides has helped manage whiteflies, there is an increasing need to develop novel strategies that are effective at controlling whitefly populations, especially in regions where large-scale pesticide applications are impractical. To identify functional genes that may be used as targets in the development of ribonucleicacid (RNA) interference (RNAi) technology for whitefly control, we first performed transcriptome analysis of whiteflies during the first three days (24 h, 48 h, and 72 h) of TYLCV acquisition, which revealed ~80 genes that were differentially expressed. Furthermore, some of these genes were selected as targets for RNAi against whitefly. Here, we discuss how a fundamental understanding of whitefly gene expression in response to TYLCV acquisition can contribute to the development of RNAi strategies to manage whiteflies and the viruses they transmit.