The sweetpotato or silverleaf whiteflies: Biotypes of Bemisia tabaci or a species complex?

The recent emergence of whitefiy species of the genus Bemisia as virus vectors and pests worldwide has stimulated investigations into their biology. The invasion of pantropical agroecosystems by an exotic whitefiy and increased pressures by indigenous whiteflies elsewhere have led to the examination of Bemisia tabaci biology with a new perspective. The concept of host races or biotypes was proposed in the 1950s to describe select B. tabaci populations with definitive host associations and specific virus-vector capabilities. However, little attention has been given to the mechanisms involved. Biochemical, molecular, and whole-system approaches are underway to examine the underlying diversity among reproductively isolated populations or biotypes of B. tabaci.