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Identification of a whitefly species by genomic and behavioral studies

T.M. Perring·A.D. Cooper·R. J. Rodriguez·C.A. Farrar·T.S. Bellows
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Abstract

An introduced whitefly species, responsible for over a half billion dollars in damage to U.S. agricultural production in 1991, is morphologically indistinguishable from Bemisia tabaci (Gennadius). However, with the use of polymerase chain reaction-based DNA differentiation tests, allozymic frequency analyses, crossing experiments, and mating behavior studies, the introduced whitefly is found to be a distinct species. Recognition of this new species, the silverleaf whitefly, is critical in the search for management options.

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T.M. Perring, A.D. Cooper, R. J. Rodriguez, C.A. Farrar, T.S. Bellows. 1993. Identification of a whitefly species by genomic and behavioral studies. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.8418497

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