Difference in feeding behaviors of two invasive whiteflies on host plants with different suitability: Implication for competitive displacement

Baiming Liu, Fengming Yan, Dong Chu, Huipeng Pan, Xiaoguo Jiao, Wen Xie, Qingjun Wu, Shaoli Wang, Baoyun Xu, Xuguo Zhou, Youjun Zhang

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

69 Scopus citations

Abstract

In China, Bemisia tabaci Q (commonly known as biotype Q) has rapidly displaced B (commonly known as biotype B) in the past 6 years. The mechanisms underlying such phenomenon have been studied extensively in recent years; however, we have not come to a definitive con-clusion yet. In the present study, the differences in host suitability between B and Q whitefly adults to five host plants (cabbage, cotton, cucumber, poinsettia, and tomato) were evaluated based on their respective feeding behaviors using a direct-current electrical penetration graph (DC-EPG) system. Pair-wise comparisons of B. tabaci B and Q feeding on each of the five host plants clearly indicate that Q feeds better than B on tomato, cotton and poinsettia, while B feeds better than Q on cabbage and cucumber. The EPG parameters related to both phloem and non-phloem phases confirm that cabbage and cucumber are best suited to B, while to-mato, cotton, and poinsettia are best suited to Q. Our present results support the contention that host suitability and adult feeding behavior contribute to the competitive displacement of biotype B by biotype Q. The discrepancy between field (previous studies) and laboratory results (this study), however, suggests that 1) whitefly displacement is apparently contributed by multiple factors; and 2) factor(s) other than the host plant suitability may play a vital role in dictating the whitefly biotypes in the field.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)697-706
Number of pages10
JournalInternational Journal of Biological Sciences
Volume8
Issue number5
DOIs
StatePublished - May 14 2012

Keywords

  • Bemisia tabaci
  • Competitive displacemen
  • DC-EPG
  • Feeding behavior
  • Host suitability

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics
  • Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology
  • Molecular Biology
  • Developmental Biology
  • Cell Biology

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