Whitefly-Mediated Transmission of Plant Viruses

Begin with a zucchini plant that is systemically infected with the tomato leaf curl New Delhi virus.

In this plant, viral particles accumulate in the phloem, the vascular tissue that transports sugars and nutrients.

Introduce virus-free whiteflies onto the infected zucchini leaves.

The whiteflies ingest virus-rich phloem sap from the leaves.

The virus moves through the gut lumen, crosses the gut barrier, enters the circulatory fluid, and accumulates in the salivary glands.

Use an aspirator to collect the virus-carrying whiteflies into a collection vial.

Transfer them onto healthy zucchini leaves to enable virus transmission.

Confine them using clip cages for effective virus inoculation.

The whiteflies inject saliva containing the virus into the phloem.

After inoculation, remove the whiteflies.

Apply insecticide and maintain the plant in an insect-proof cage to prevent secondary infection.

The inoculated zucchini plant is ready for downstream analysis.