title: Emerging virus diseases transmitted by whiteflies.
abstract: Virus diseases that have emerged in the past two decades limit the production of important vegetable crops in tropical, subtropical, and temperate regions worldwide, and many of the causal viruses are transmitted by whiteflies (order Hemiptera, family Aleyrodidae). Most of these whitefly-transmitted viruses are begomoviruses (family Geminiviridae), although whiteflies are also vectors of criniviruses, ipomoviruses, torradoviruses, and some carlaviruses. Factors driving the emergence and establishment of whitefly-transmitted diseases include genetic changes in the virus through mutation and recombination, changes in the vector populations coupled with polyphagy of the main vector, Bemisia tabaci, and long distance traffic of plant material or vector insects due to trade of vegetables and ornamental plants. The role of humans in increasing the emergence of virus diseases is obvious, and the effect that climate change may have in the future is unclear.
authors.affiliation: Instituto de Hortofruticultura Subtropical y Mediterránea La Mayora (IHSM-UMA-CSIC), Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, 29750 Algarrobo-Costa, Málaga, Spain. jnavas@eelm.csic.es
authors.forename: Jesús
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Navas-Castillo
authors.forename: Elvira
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Fiallo-Olivé
authors.forename: Sonia
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Sánchez-Campos
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D017791:Geminiviridae / Q000235:genetics; D006430:Hemiptera / Q000502:physiology / Q000821:virology*; D006801:Humans; D007303:Insect Vectors / Q000502:physiology / Q000821:virology*; D018551:Solanum lycopersicum / Q000821:virology; D009154:Mutation; D010935:Plant Diseases / Q000821:virology*; D010942:Plant Viruses / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics*; D011157:Population Dynamics; D011995:Recombination, Genetic; D014777:Virus Diseases / Q000635:transmission / Q000821:virology*