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Title: The draft genome of whitefly Bemisia tabaci MEAM1, a global crop pest, provides novel insights into virus transmission, host adaptation, and insecticide resistance

Author
item CHEN, WENBO - Boyce Thompson Institute
item HASEGAWA, DANIEL - Boyce Thompson Institute
item Kaur, Navneet
item KLIOT, ADI - Volcani Center (ARO)
item PINHEIRO, PATRICIA - Boyce Thompson Institute
item LUAN, JUNBO - Cornell University
item STENSMYR, MARCUS - Lund University
item ZHENG, YI - Boyce Thompson Institute
item LIU, WENLI - Boyce Thompson Institute
item SUN, HONGHE - Boyce Thompson Institute
item XU, YIMIN - Boyce Thompson Institute
item LUO, YUAN - Cornell University
item KRUSE, ANGELA - Boyce Thompson Institute
item YANG, XIAOWEI - Cornell University
item KONTSEDALOV, SVETLANA - Volcani Center (ARO)
item LEBEDEV, GALINA - Volcani Center (ARO)
item FISHER, TONJA - University Of Arizona
item NELSON, DAVID - University Of Tennessee
item Hunter, Wayne
item BROWN, JUDITH - University Of Arizona
item JANDER, GEORG - Boyce Thompson Institute
item Heck, Michelle
item DOUGLAS, ANGELA - Cornell University
item GHANIM, MURAD - Volcani Center (ARO)
item Simmons, Alvin
item Wintermantel, William - Bill
item Ling, Kai-Shu
item FEI, ZHANGJUN - Boyce Thompson Institute

Submitted to: BMC Biology
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 10/28/2016
Publication Date: 12/14/2016
Citation: Chen, W., Hasegawa, D.K., Kaur, N., Kliot, A., Pinheiro, P.V., Luan, J., Stensmyr, M.C., Zheng, Y., Liu, W., Sun, H., Xu, Y., Luo, Y., Kruse, A., Yang, X., Kontsedalov, S., Lebedev, G., Fisher, T., Nelson, D.R., Hunter, W.B., Brown, J.K., Jander, G., Cilia, M., Douglas, A.E., Ghanim, M., Simmons, A.M., Wintermantel, W.M., Ling, K., Fei, Z. 2016. The draft genome of whitefly Bemisia tabaci MEAM1, a global crop pest, provides novel insights into virus transmission, host adaptation, and insecticide resistance. BMC Biology. 14:110 doi:10.1186/s12915-016-0321-Y.

Interpretive Summary: The whitefly B. tabaci represents one of the most agronomically significant pests. Analyses of the B. tabaci genome conducted by a collaborative group of ARS and university scientists revealed numerous gene novelties that have shaped whiteflies as a highly invasive pest and efficient virus vector. These include: (1) several genome clusters containing B. tabaci-specific genes that are tandemly duplicated and responsive to the virus acquired by the B. tabaci vector; (2) largely expanded gene families that have potential roles in virus transmission, detoxification and/or insecticide resistance; (3) a large number of genes horizontally transferred from bacteria and fungi, including those involved in essential amino acid and hopanoid/sterol synthesis, and (4) a reduced immune repertoire that may have facilitated the acquisition and maintenance of microbial symbionts. Our analysis of the B. tabaci genome also highlighted genes in the ribonucleic acid (RNA) interference and DNA methylation pathways. The B. tabaci genome reported here provides an important advance for understanding whitefly biology with implications for management of this pest and associated virus control.

Technical Abstract: Whiteflies are among the most important agricultural pests. They have a broad range of host plants and exceptional ability to transmit a large number of plant viruses, and can rapidly evolve insecticide resistance. Here we present a high-quality draft genome of the whitefly, Bemisia tabaci. Comparative genomic analysis revealed gene families that are significantly expanded in whiteflies, including those putatively involved in virus transmission, detoxification and insecticide resistance. Integrative genome and transcriptome analysis uncovered clusters of tandemly duplicated, B. tabaci-specific genes potentially involved in virus transmission. Furthermore, the B. tabaci genome contains 142 genes horizontally transferred from bacteria or fungi, including those encoding enzymes in hopanoid/sterol synthesis and xenobiotic detoxification that are uniquely present as compared to other insects. The B. tabaci genome offers insights into its unique biological adaptations, and provides opportunities to develop novel strategies for the management of whiteflies and the viruses they transmit.