The invasive MED/Q Bemisia tabaci genome: a tale of gene loss and gene gain

Authors: XIE, WEN - Chinese Academy Of Agricultural Sciences; YANG, XIN - Chinese Academy Of Agricultural Sciences; CHEN, CHUNHAI - Beijing Genome Institute; YANG, ZEZHONG - Chinese Academy Of Agricultural Sciences; GUO, LITAO - Chinese Academy Of Agricultural Sciences; WANG, DAN - Beijing Genome Institute; HUANG, JINQUN - Beijing Genome Institute; ZHANG, HAILIN - Beijing Genome Institute; WEN, YANAN - Chinese Academy Of Agricultural Sciences; ZHAO, J - Chinese Academy Of Agricultural Sciences; WU, QINGJUN - Beijing Genome Institute; WANG, SHAOLI - Chinese Academy Of Agricultural Sciences; Coates, Brad; ZHOU, XUGIO - Chinese Academy Of Agricultural Sciences; ZHANG, YOUJUN - Chinese Academy Of Agricultural Sciences

Submitted to: BMC Genomics
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 1/11/2018
Publication Date: 1/22/2018
Citation: Xie, W., Yang, X., Chen, C., Yang, Z., Guo, L., Wang, D., Huang, J., Zhang, H., Wen, Y., Zhao, J., Wu, Q., Wang, S., Coates, B.S., Zhou, X., Zhang, Y. 2018. The invasive MED/Q Bemisia tabaci genome: a tale of gene loss and gene gain. BMC Genomics. 19(1):68. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12864-018-4448-9.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/s12864-018-4448-9

Interpretive Summary: Whiteflies are a group of invasive crop pests that impact global agriculture. An analysis was conducted to compare draft genomes of two whitefly strains, which demonstrated the relative conserved gene order, but a number of genes were either novel (added) or omitted (deleted) between genomes. This degree of gene family member expansion or contraction differences was shown within genes putatively responsible for chemical insecticide detoxification. Additionally, a relatively large number of nucleotide changes within genes which may impact downstream function of these proteins. Overall, these data provide enticing insights into the possible mechanisms by which this species adapts to novel environments during expansion into new invaded habitats, as well as evolves resistance to chemical insecticides used by producers to suppress populations and associated levels of crop damage. These data are important to public and private sector scientists interested in the impact of pest arthropod species adaptation and invasiveness in relation to agricultural production.

Technical Abstract: Whiteflies are a group of invasive crop pests that impact global agriculture. An analysis was conducted to compare draft genomes of two whitefly strains, which demonstrated the relative conserved gene order, but a number of genes were either novel (added) or omitted (deleted) between genomes. This degree of gene family member expansion or contraction was shown within genes putatively responsible for chemical insecticide detoxification. Additionally, a relatively large number of nucleotide changes were within genes which may impact downstream function of these proteins. Overall, these data provide enticing insights into the possible mechanisms by which this species adapts to novel environments during expansion into new invaded habitats, as well as how it evolves resistance to chemical insecticides used by producers to suppress populations and associated levels of crop damage. These data are important to public and private sector scientists interested in the impact of pest arthropod species adaptation and invasiveness in relation to agricultural production.