Acquisition and Transmission of two Begomoviruses by the B and a non-B Biotype of Bemisia tabaci from Zhejiang, China

Acquisition and transmission was studied of Tomato yellow leaf curl China virus (TYLCCNV) and Tobacco curly shoot virus (TbCSV) by the B and a non-B biotype (China-ZHJ-1) of Bemisia tabaci from Zhejiang, China. The frequency of TYLCCNV and TbCSV detection by PCR in whitefly adults increased with increasing length of feeding on virus-infected plants. The virus DNA was detected by PCR in 40% of the B biotype adults tested after a period of 30 min access to infected plants and in all adults after a 12-h period of access. All ZHJ-1 adults acquired TYLCCNV and TbCSV after a 48-h period of access to the virus-infected plants. Viruliferous B and ZHJ-1 adults retained TYLCCNV DNA for their entire life when placed on healthy cotton plants. Viruliferous ZHJ-1 adults retained TbCSV DNA for their entire life when placed on healthy cotton plants but the B biotype adults did not. Transmission of TYLCCNV was achieved with one B or ZHJ-1 adult per plant, and the probability of transmission reached 100% when the number of adults was increased to 10 per plant. The efficiency for TYLCCNV transmission to healthy plants by adults of both B and ZHJ-1 was much higher than that for TbCSV.