Resistance of tomato genotypes to the silverleaf whitefly mediated by acylsugars

Abstract

Acylsugars in the leaflets of the wild accession LA-716 (Lycopersicon pennellii) gives resistance to Bemisia spp., which causes expressive losses to the tomato crop. The goal of this work was to evaluate the resistance to the silverleaf whitefly (Bemisia tabaci biotype B) of previously selected genotypes, based on the level of acylsugars in the leaflets. F2BC1 plants {F2[Lycopersicon esculentum TOM 584 x (L. esculentum TOM 584 x L. pennellii LA- 716)]} were selected for extreme contents of acylsugars: BPX-370B pl#30-275, BPX-370B pl#79-278, BPX-370B pl#30-380, BPX-370B pl#25-271 (high contents), BPX-370B pl#30-02, BPX-370B pl#30- 142 (low contents). These genotypes, along with the parents TOM 584 and LA-716, were submitted to a silverleaf whitefly infestation. Oviposition and nymph development were evaluated. The oviposition on the genotypes BPX-370B pl#30-275 and BPX-370B pl#30-380 was significantly lower to that which occurred on the genotype TOM 584 and in the other genotypes of the F2RC1 generation. The four genotypes selected for high acylsugar contents presented the lowest number of nymphs, except to LA-716. Although the number of eggs in the BPX-370B pl#25-271 and BPX-370B pl#79-278 genotypes (high contents) was elevated, the number of nymphs was reduced, similarly to the other high-acylsugar genotypes, probably due to antibioses effect.