On species delimitation, hybridization and population structure of cassava whitefly in Africa

Abstract The Bemisia cassava whitefly complex includes species that cause severe crop damage through vectoring cassava viruses in eastern Africa. Currently, the cassava whitefly complex is divided into species and subgroups based on very limited molecular markers that did not allow clear definition of species and population structure. Based on 14,358 genome-wide SNPs from 63 cassava whitefly individuals belonging to sub-Saharan African (SSA1, SSA2 and SSA4) species, and using a well-curated mtCOI gene database, we show clear incongruities in previous taxonomic approaches underpinned by effects from pseudogenes. We show that the SSA4 species is part of the SSA2 species, and that populations of the SSA1 species comprise of south-eastern (Madagascar, Tanzania) and north-western (Nigeria, Democratic Republic of Congo and Burundi) sub-species that show signatures of allopatric incipient speciation, with a hybrid zone separating these adjacent sub-species. These findings provide the first genomic insights into the evolution and molecular ecology of a highly cryptic hemipteran insect complex in African, and allow the systematic use of genomic data in management and control strategies for this important cassava pest.