Population Genetic Structure of Bemisia tabaci (Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae) Utilizing Microsatellite Markers

We aimed to characterize the population genetic structure within and among five Bemisia tabaci (Gennadius) populations collected from different host plants and geographic regions by using microsatelites as a molecular marker. Each population was represented by 19 specimens. The host plants and geographic origins of these populations were described as follows: Pop 1: Squash - Barreiras (BA); Pop 2: Cotton - Barreiras (BA); Pop 3: Soybean - Campinas (SP); Pop 4: Tomato - Cruz das Almas (BA); and Pop 5: Soybean - Rondonopolis (MT). Six polymorphic loci were observed, which discriminated 31 different alleles in the studied populations, with a mean number of alleles per population of 3.30 (2.67 - 4.00). Using Fisher's Exact test, it was observed that at least three populations were in Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium for most of the studied loci (six). The dendrogram (UPGMA) separated populations into groups mainly related to the geographic origin of the samples. Only population 5 differed from the others at a 0.15 distance (74.5% group consistency). The most similar populations were land 2, with a 0.01 distance (65.3%). This is in agreement with their geographic origins and it was not consistent with host specificity. The results suggest considerable gene flow (7.3%) among all whitefly populations and indicate that a better understanding of the gene flow in populations of B. tabaci associated with different hosts is required for the management of this insect.