title: Loop-mediated isothermal amplification for rapid identification of biotypes B and Q of the globally invasive pest Bemisia tabaci, and studying population dynamics.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Bemisia tabaci, the sweetpotato whitefly, is a globally invasive pest that causes serious agricultural damage by transmitting plant viruses. This pest forms a cryptic species complex that displays morphologically indistinguishable biotypes. Among them, the B and Q biotypes are the most important pests worldwide. Because they have different levels of insecticide resistance, these biotypes must be identified in order to achieve proper pest control. Therefore, a convenient, rapid and specific detection method for identifying the two biotypes is necessary.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) was employed for rapid identification of B. tabaci B and Q biotypes. By combining a quick DNA extraction method, identification of the two biotypes was achieved within 1 h of detection time. The LAMP assay was applied to study the dynamics of B. tabaci biotypes both in the field and in greenhouses. It was found that, while temperature may be important for population dynamics of the whitefly in the field, population dynamics in greenhouse conditions may be influenced by the types of insecticide.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The newly designed LAMP assay is a simple, rapid and accurate method for identifying the B and Q biotypes. It can be conducted by non-specialists and can contribute to pest management.
authors.affiliation: Department of Entomology, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Chia-Hung
authors.initials: CH
authors.lastname: Hsieh
authors.forename: Hurng-Yi
authors.initials: HY
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Young-Fa
authors.initials: YF
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Chiun-Cheng
authors.initials: CC
authors.lastname: Ko
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D017931:DNA Primers / Q000235:genetics; D006430:Hemiptera / Q000145:classification* / Q000235:genetics*; D019476:Insect Proteins / Q000235:genetics; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D021141:Nucleic Acid Amplification Techniques / Q000379:methods*; D010802:Phylogeny; D011157:Population Dynamics
chemical_list: D017931:DNA Primers; D019476:Insect Proteins