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ARS Home » Southeast Area » Charleston, South Carolina » Vegetable Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #413818
Research Project: Basic and Applied Approaches for Pest Management in Vegetable Crops

Location: Vegetable Research

Title: A plant virus differentially alters DNA methylation in two cryptic species of a hemipteran vector

Author
item CATTO, MICHAEL - University Of Georgia
item PANDEY, SUDEEP - University Of Georgia
item GHOSH, SAPTARSHI - University Of Georgia
item MONDAL, BANANI - University Of Georgia
item Simmons, Alvin
item HUNT, BRENDAN - University Of Georgia
item SRINIVASAN, RAJAGOPALBABU - University Of Georgia

Submitted to: npj Viruses
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 6/27/2024
Publication Date: 8/12/2024
Citation: Catto, M., Pandey, S., Ghosh, S., Mondal, B., Simmons, A.M., Hunt, B.G., Srinivasan, R. 2024. A plant virus differentially alters DNA methylation in two cryptic species of a hemipteran vector. npj Viruses. 2. Article 35(2024). https://doi.org/10.1038/s44298-024-00044-2.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s44298-024-00044-2

Interpretive Summary: The sweetpotato whitefly (called Bemisia tabaci MEAM1 or biotytype B) looks the same as some related populations of whiteflies, but these whiteflies are genetically different. A study was conducted to compare patterns of chemical reactions in the insect body between the sweetpotato whitefly and the Bemisia tabaci MED (also call Q biotype) whitefly population. These two populations of whiteflies exhibited substantial biological and physiological differences in gene expression after they acquired the tomato yellow leaf curl virus. The results of this study have implications to the capacity of these whiteflies to transmit viruses, and will help scientists in developing management strategies against whiteflies and the plant viruses that they transmit.

Technical Abstract: Epigenetic patterns, such as DNA methylation, are known to vary between distantly related species, but these patterns could differ at an intraspecific level. The sweetpotato whitefly, Bemisia tabaci (Gennadius) (Aleyrodidae; Hemiptera), includes several cryptic species. B. tabaci and its cryptic species are invasive, highly polyphagous, and transmit an array of plant infecting begomoviruses including single stranded DNA (ssDNA) begomoviruses. DNA methylation patterns around genes and genomic features of two prominent cryptic species of B. tabaci post acquisition of a monopartite ssDNA virus –tomato yellow curl virus (TYLCV) was investigated. The cryptic species investigated included: Middle East Asia Minor 1 (MEAM1) and Mediterranean (MED) They possess highly similar genomes, but exhibit substantial biological and physiological differences; 57 and 58 genes with intragenic differentially methylated regions (DMRs) were identified in MEAM1 and MED, respectively. Of those, all DMRs were assessed for differential expression and alternative splicing events. The clustering of differentially expressed genes revealed several hyper- and hypomethylated clusters encompassing genes with implication to virus-vector interactions including immune functions and xenobiotic detoxification. The prevalence of epigenetically regulated genes within the cryptic species could explain some of the observed biological differences between the two cryptic species.