Global population structure of a worldwide pest and virus vector: genetic diversity and population history of the Bemisia tabaci sibling species group

The whitefly Bemisia tabaci sibling species (sibsp.) group comprises morphologically indiscernible lineages of well-known exemplars referred to as biotypes. It is distributed throughout tropical and subtropical latitudes, and includes the contemporary invasive haplotypes, termed B and Q. Several well-studied B. tabaci biotypes exhibit ecological and biological diversity, however, most members are poorly studied or completely uncharacterized. Genetic studies have revealed substantial diversity within the group based on a fragment of the mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase I (mtCOI) sequence (haplotypes), with other tested markers being less useful for deep phylogenetic comparisons. The view of global relationships within the B. tabaci sibsp. group is largely derived from this single marker, making assessment of gene flow and genetic structure difficult at the population level. Here, the population structure was explored for B. tabaci in a global context using nuclear data from variable...