Genome of the African cassava whitefly Bemisia tabaci and distribution and genetic diversity of cassava-colonizing whiteflies in Africa.
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Date
2019-05-15
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Abstract
The whitefy Bemisia tabaci, a species complex consisting of many morphologically indistinguishable species
divided into distinct clades, is one of the most globally important agricultural pests and plant virus vectors.
Cassava-colonizing B. tabaci transmits viruses that cause cassava mosaic disease (CMD) and cassava brown streak
disease (CBSD). Half of all cassava plants in Africa are affected by these viral diseases, resulting in annual
production losses of more than US$ 1 billion. Here we report the draft genome of the cassava whitefly B. tabaci
Sub-Saharan Africa- East and Central Africa (SSA-ECA), the super-abundant population that has been associated
with the rapid spread of viruses causing the pandemics of CMD and CBSD. The SSA-ECA genome assembled from
Illumina short reads has a total size of 513.7Mb and a scaffold N50 length of 497kb, and contains 15,084
predicted protein-coding genes. Phylogenetic analysis suggests that SSA-ECA diverged from MEAM1 around 5.26
million years ago. A comprehensive genetic analysis of cassava-colonizing B. tabaci in Africa was also conducted,
in which a total of 243 whitefly specimens were collected from 18 countries representing all major cassava
growing regions in the continent and genotyped using NextRAD sequencing. Population genomic analyses
confirmed the existence of six major populations linked by gene flow and inferred the distribution patterns of
these populations across the African continent. The genome of SSA-ECA and the genetic findings provide va
luable resources and guidance to facilitate whitefly research and the development of strategies to control cassava
viral diseases spread by whiteflies.
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Chen, W., Wosula, E. N., Hasegawa, D. K., Casinga, C., Shirima, R. R., Fiaboe, K. K. M., Hanna, R., Fosto, A., Goergen, G., Tamò, M., Mahuku, G., Murithi, H. M., Tripathi, L., Mware, B., Kumar, L. P., Ntawuruhunga, P., Moyo, C., Yomeni, M., Boahen, S., Edet, M., Awoyale, W., Wintermantel, W. M., Ling, K., Legg, J. P., and Zhangjun Fei, Z. (2019): Genome of the African cassava whitefly Bemisia tabaci and distribution and genetic diversity of cassava-colonizing whiteflies in Africa. Insect Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, 110: 112–120. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ibmb.2019.05.003.