Genetic population structure of Bemisia tabaci in Spain associated with Tomato leaf curl New Delhi virus - short communication

Tomato leaf curl New Delhi virus (ToLCNDV) originates from Asia where it is persistently transmitted by indigenous cryptic species of the whitefly Bemisia tabaci. The virus has recently invaded Spain, Tunisia, and Italy, and to investigate whether whitefly species new to the Mediterranean are involved, 35 populations were collected during 2015 from different crops in different regions of southern Spain. Comparison of partial mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase I sequences from the collected whiteflies revealed the existence of 7 different haplotypes belonging to the Mediterranean-Q1 cryptic species. ToLCNDV was detected in 15 populations collected from tomato, zucchini, and melon crops and from 5 different localities. The results suggest that MED-Q1 is also responsible for the current spread of ToLCNDV in Spain.