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Updated: Feb 16, 2026

Transmitting Plant Viruses Using Whiteflies
Published on: November 8, 2013
Vector mediated transmission of persistently transmitted plant viruses
Dongsheng Jia1, Qian Chen1, Qianzhuo Mao1
1Fujian Province Key Laboratory of Plant Virology, Vector-borne Viruses Research Center, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou, Fujian, People's Republic of China.
Abstract:
Many vector-borne plant viruses of agricultural importance are persistently transmitted from plant to plant by sap-sucking insects. So far, the mechanisms for vector-mediated horizontal transmission of the viruses to plant hosts and for vertical transmission to insect offspring have been poorly understood. During horizontal transmission, intact virions or virus-induced inclusions are exploited by persistently transmitted viruses to overcome the midgut and salivary gland barriers. The existing oocyte entry paths used by vitellogenin or symbiont bacteria can mediate the vertical transmission of viruses by female insects. We hypothesize that the viruses may also be vertically transmitted by male insects via attachment to the surface of sperm. Inhibiting vertical transmission of the viruses by insect vectors in the overwintering season unfavorable for horizontal transmission may open new perspectives for viral control.
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