Morphological and molecular evidence supporting the validity of Trialeurodes lauri and T. ricini (Hemiptera: Sternorrhyncha: Aleyrodidae)

Abstract

Abstract. The whiteflies Trialeurodes lauri and T. ricini have been found to be moving in international plant trade. The taxonomic validity and separation of these species is relevant to the plant health quarantine services of the European Union as T. lauri is oligophagous, nor recorded as a virus vector and present in the EU, whereas T. ricini is polyphagous, reported to be a virus vector, and absent from the EU (except for the Canary Islands). Yet doubt has been cast on the validity of the two species, with the suggestion that T. lauri is merely a variant of T. ricini. The taxonomic relationship was therefore investigated using morphological and molecular data. One morphological character traditionally used for the separation of these two species, the arrangement of the submarginal papillae, was found to be unreliable but morphological differences between the two species were found in the cephalic setal state, body outline and dorsal pigmentation. However, the differences were subtle and not always reliable. The molecular data, based on the sequence of a fragment of the COI gene, support the hypothesis that T. ricini and T. lauri are distinct valid species.

Low Levels of Mitochondrial DNA and Symbiont Diversity in the Worldwide Agricultural Pest, the Greenhouse Whitefly Trialeurodes vaporariorum (Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae)

“…The most widespread and damaging members of this species complex are the Middle East-Asia Minor 1 species (MEAM1, commonly known as the B biotype) and the Mediterranean species (MED, commonly known as the Q biotype) (De Barro et al 2011). In contrast, the few studies analyzing genetic diversity of T. vaporariorum demonstrate low polymorphism and absence of cryptic species (Malumphy et al 2007, Prijovi et al 2014. Although both B. tabaci and T. vaporariorum have been recorded in Europe at a similar time, more active spread was recorded in 1980 (Baufeld and Unger 1994).…”

Population structure of the glasshouse whitefly Trialeurodes vaporariorum (Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae) shows multiple introductions to the U.K.

“…Haplotype mtH3 was recorded in the U.K. for the first time, namely in Essex and Norfolk, in the southeast of England. The mtH3 is most common in the U.S.A. and was also previously recorded in Spain on the Canary Islands and in Serbia (Malumphy et al ., ; Prijovic et al ., ). The likely recent introduction of mtH3 in the U.K. might be a result of human activities (e.g.…”

“…Most of the mtDNA COI sequences ( n = 91) of T. vaporariorum individuals present in the U.K. belonged to mitochondrial haplotype mtH1, which is also common in the Netherlands and France (Malumphy et al ., ; Kapantaidaki et al ., ). Haplotype mtH3 was recorded in the U.K. for the first time, namely in Essex and Norfolk, in the southeast of England.…”

The Aleyrodidae (Hemiptera: Sternorrhyncha) of the Canary Islands with special reference to Aleyrodes, Siphoninus, and the challenges of puparial morphology in Bemisia

“…The taxonomic separation of this species from T. lauri Signoret was discussed by Martin et al (2000), who suggested that T. lauri could be a variant form of T. ricini. Recently, both morphological and molecular data has supported their retention as two distinct species that can be separated by the absence (lauri) or presence (ricini) of a pair of cephalic setae (Malumphy et al 2007). In Egypt, T. ricini has been reported as a vector of the begomovirus Tomato yellow leaf curl virus (TYLCV) (Idriss et al 1998), but these results were not supported by other studies.…”