ARS | Publication request: PHYLOGENETIC RELATIONSHIP OF BEMISISA TABACI DETERMINED BY BAYESIAN ANALYSIS OF COI SEQUENCE VARIATION

Submitted to: Plant and Animal Genome Conference
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: November 7, 2005
Publication Date: January 14, 2006
Citation: Shatters, R.G., Boykin, L.M., Bagnall, R.A., Rosell, R.C., McKenzie, C.L., Frohlich, D.R. 2006. Phylogenetic relationship of Bemisisa tabaci determined by Bayesian analysis of coi sequence variation. Plant and Animal Genome Conference. San Diego, CA, January 14-18.

Technical Abstract: Bemisia tabaci (whitefly) is a worldwide pest of agricultural crops that can colonize hundreds of plant species. Phylogenetic analysis of B. tabaci mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase I (COI) sequence using neighbor joining and maximum likelihood analysis indicate B. tabaci as a monophyletic group with five distinct clades. However, recent evidence from whitefly microsatellite data suggests little gene flow among populations within the Southeast Asian clade identified by COI phylogeny and strongly suggests that this group is actually a complex of cryptic species. In this report, we show a reanalysis of B. tabaci COI sequence data using Bayesian phylogenetic techniques. Bayesian methods produce a more resolved phylogeny of B. tabaci populations when compared to maximum likelihood analysis; a finding that is consistent with the microsatellite studies. Using COI sequence data from all genbank COI accessions, eight distinct clades were produced with posterior probability values greater than 79 (six branches had values of 100, one had a value of 92 and one had a value of 79). These clades represent the five previously described clades: New world (A-biotype), Southeast Asia/Far East Asia/Australia, Mediterranean-North African-Middle East, Southeastern Indian ocean islands, and Sub-Saharan Africa, but divided the sub-Saharan African and Southeast Asian groups into two separate groups each. Also resolved is a clade containing the Q and L1 biotypes along with unknown isolates from Spain, Morocco, and Turkey. Within one Sub-Saharan African group there is support (posterior probabilities of greater than 80) for eight unique subgroups. Implications of newly discovered phylogenetic relationships will be discussed.