Begomovirus structural proteins to target the whitefly vector, Bemisia tabaci

The sweet potato whitefly, Bemisia tabaci, feeds on a wide variety of crop plants resulting in billions of dollars in crop losses worldwide. Management of whitefly populations and associated plant viral diseases is challenging for many reasons including widespread whitefly resistance to chemical insecticides. The begomoviruses, which are vectored by B. tabaci, include some of the most destructive plant pathogens in the world. Persistent transmission of begomoviruses is dependent upon the movement of coat protein encapsidated viral genomes across the gut epithelium into the hemocoel of the whitefly vector. Following demonstration of the use of the structural protein of an aphid vectored plant virus for delivery for a neurotoxin into the aphid hemocoel (Bonning et al., 2013 Nat. Biotechnol.), we tested the ability of a begomovirus coat protein to deliver an insect-specific neurotoxin from the gut to its target site in the whitefly hemocoel. Here we will present research on use of this parallel approach for management of the whitefly, B. tabaci.