D3310: Gene expression patterns in Bemisia tabaci MEAM1 (Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae) induced by Begomovirus acquisition

Begomoviruses (Geminiviridae) are an economically important group of plant viruses transmitted solely by members of the Bemisia tabaci (Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae) cryptic species complex. Whiteflies within the B. tabaci complex demonstrate diverse transmission specificities for different begomoviruses. In the United States, one of the most economically significant begomoviruses is tomato yellow leaf curl virus (TYLCV). TYLCV is efficiently transmitted by B. tabaci Middle East-Asia Minor 1 (MEAM1), a species that invaded North America in the 1980s and is considered one of the most destructive agricultural pests globally. The purpose of this study is to determine the gene expression profiles of non-viruliferous and viruliferous MEAM1 after TYLCV acquisition access feeding. Newly emerged (≤ 5 days) adult whiteflies were fed on healthy or TYLCV infected plants for 12, 36, or 60 hours, after which they were transferred to a TYLCV non-host (collard) for a 12-hour gut clearing period. The non-host feeding phase was incorporated to capture gene expression changes influenced by virus acquisition and to minimize any host-induced, indirect effects of feeding on infected leaf tissue. High-quality total RNA was extracted from whiteflies using TRIzol and high throughput sequenced. Differential expression analyses were performed to determine gene expression patterns associated with TYLCV acquisition. Elucidating the transcriptional response of B. tabaci MEAM1 to virus acquisition could inform the development of novel genomics-assisted whitefly transmitted virus management strategies.