Pest Management Science (2015) 71, 501-504

Leonardo da Fonseca Barbosa, Valdir Atsushi Yuki, Julio Massaharu Marubayashi, Bruno Rossitto De Marchi, Fernando Luis Perini, Marcelo Agenor Pavan, Danielle Ribeiro de Barros, Murad Ghanim, Enrique Moriones, Jesus Navas-Castillo and Renate Krause-Sakate (2015)
First report of Bemisia tabaci Mediterranean (Q biotype) species in Brazil
Pest Management Science 71 (4), 501-504
Abstract:
BACKGROUND
The whitefly Bemisia tabaci is a major cosmopolitan pest and comprises a complex of more than 36 cryptic species that cause serious damage to agricultural crops worldwide. In this study, the Mediterranean species of B. tabaci, formerly known as Q biotype, was identified for the first time in Brazil.
RESULTS
Adult B. tabaci were collected from different localities and hosts from Rio Grande do Sul, the southernmost state of the country that borders Uruguay and Argentina. Partial sequencing of the mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase I (mtCOI) gene indicated that B. tabaci MED species appears to be restricted to the province of Barra do Quaraí, infesting Capsicum annuum cultivated in greenhouses and Ipomoea batatas in open fields. The partial mtCOI sequences obtained shared 100% nucleotide identity with reference sequences for the Q biotype reported from Uruguay. The secondary endosymbionts Hamiltonella and Cardinium were detected by PCR in the new identified MED species from Brazil, similarly to the Q biotype from Uruguay.
CONCLUSION
Our results indicate the presence of the MED species in Brazil. The close monitoring of this new identified species in the southern region of Brazil is essential to avoid its geographical expansion to more important agricultural areas in the country.
(The abstract is excluded from the Creative Commons licence and has been copied with permission by the publisher.)
Link to article at publishers website
Database assignments for author(s): Jesús Navas-Castillo, Murad Ghanim, Renate Krause-Sakate

Research topic(s) for pests/diseases/weeds:
surveys/sampling/distribution

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Pest and/or beneficial records:

Beneficial	Pest/Disease/Weed	Crop/Product	Country	Quarant.
	Bemisia tabaci biotype Q		Brazil (south)