Over 75% of plant viruses are transmitted by insects. However, the mechanisms of virus transmission by insect vectors remain largely unknown. Geminiviruses and whiteflies are a complex of viruses and vectors, which threaten many crops worldwide. Wei et al. investigated the transmission of two geminiviruses by two whitefly species. She found that the Middle East Asia Minor 1 (MEAM1) species of the whitefly Bemisia tabaci complex effectively transmits both Tomato yellow leaf curl China virus (TYLCCNV) and Tomato yellow leaf curl virus (TYLCV), whereas theMediterranean (MED) species transmits TYLCV but not TYLCCNV. Confocal microscopy revealed that virion transport in primary salivary glands (PSGs) follows specific paths to reach secretory cells in the central region and, the accumulation of virions in the secretory region of PSGs was correlated with successful virus transmission. These results indicate that the secretory cells in the central region of primary salivary glands determine the recognition and transmission of begomoviruses. These findings set a foundation not only for future research on plant virus transmission, but also for other human and animal viruses transmitted by arthropod vectors.
This study was recently published online by Journal of Virology (http://jvi.asm.org/content/early/2014/09/04/JVI.02179-14.long). This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (grant number 31390421).