Plant pathogens and insect herbivores often share hosts under natural conditions. Hence, pathogen-induced changes in a host plant can affect the herbivore and vice versa. Even though plant viruses are ubiquitous in the field, little is known about plant-mediated interactions between viruses and nonvector herbivores. Here we tested whether the performance of the sweet potato whitefly, Bemisia tabaci (Gennadius) biotype Q, was altered when raised on pepper infected with Tomato spotted wilt virus (TSWV). TSWV infection reduced B. tabaci fecundity and longevity and increased B. tabaci developmental time but did not affect the insect's survival or female body lengths. Our results demonstrate that TSWV infection can decrease the fitness of B. tabaci biotype Q on pepper plants.
How to translate text using browser tools
1 April 2013
Tomato Spotted Wilt Virus Infection Reduces the Fitness of a Nonvector Herbivore on Pepper
Huipeng Pan,
Gong Chen,
Fei Li,
Qingjun Wu,
Shaoli Wang,
Wen Xie,
Baiming Liu,
Baoyun Xu,
Youjun Zhang
ACCESS THE FULL ARTICLE
It is not available for individual sale.
This article is only available to subscribers.
It is not available for individual sale.
It is not available for individual sale.

Journal of Economic Entomology
Vol. 106 • No. 2
April 2013
Vol. 106 • No. 2
April 2013
Bemisia tabaci
fitness
nonvector herbivore
tomato spotted wilt virus