Mitogenomic analysis of diversity of key whitefly pests in Kenya and its implication to their sustainable management

Whitefies (Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae) are devastating agricultural pests of economic importance vectoring pathogenic plant viruses. Knowledge on their diversity and distribution in Kenya is scanty, limiting development of efective sustainable management strategies. The present study is aimed at identifying whitefy pest species present in Kenya across diferent agroecological zones and establish predictive models for the most abundant species in Africa. Whitefies were sampled in Kenya from key crops known to be severely infested and identifed using 16S rRNA markers and complete mitochondrial genomes. Four whitefy species were identifed: Aleyrodes proletella, Aleurodicus dispersus, Bemisia afer and rialeurodes vaporariorum, the latter being the most dominant species across all the groecology. The assembly of complete mitogenomes and comparative analysis of all 13 protein coding genes confrmed the identities of the four species. Furthermore, prediction spatial models indicated high climatic suitability of T. vaporariorum in Africa, Europe, Central America, parts of Southern America, parts of Australia, New Zealand and Asia. Consequently, our fndings provide information to guide biosecurity agencies on protocols to be adopted for precise identifcation of pest whitefy species in Kenya to serve as an early warning tool against T. vaporariorum invasion into unafected areas and guide appropriate decision-making on their management