The role of pathogen-mediated insect superabundance in the East African emergence of a plant virus
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Date
2022-05-09
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
John Wiley & Sons, Ltd
Abstract
Abstract
1. One of the major crops for food security is cassava. Superabundant Bemisia
tabaci whitefly, comprising unusually high landscape populations of the insect,
have been implicated in cassava virus emergence. Studies have been unable to
select from several hypotheses, however, as to the dynamic drivers of superabundant whitefly associated with the emergence in East Africa of severe cassava mosaic disease. One possibility is that pathogenic modification of infected
plants can itself increase the growth of insect vector colonies on infected plants.
2. Through the modelling of population processes at the landscape scale we introduce a framework for analysing patterns in the association of disease and insect
waves.
3. Our analyses demonstrate the role of pathogen-mediated insect superabundance in a plant disease invasion.
4. Synthesis. An elevated abundance of insects at the landscape scale is frequently
implicated in invasions of the plant pathogens that they carry. We advance ecological understanding of plant disease invasions by showing how landscape data
can be used to investigate the causes of insect vector superabundance.
Description
Keywords
invasion, manipulation, vector, superabundance, plant pathogen
Citation
Donnelly, R. & Gilligan, C. A. (2022). The role of pathogen-mediated insect superabundance in the East African emergence of a plant virus. Journal of Ecology, 110, 1113– 1124. https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2745.13854