A plant gene may have helped whiteflies become a major pest

The gene lets the insects neutralize toxins that plants use for defense

whitefly

Whiteflies (one pictured) are aphidlike insects that feed on the leaves of hundreds of plants. A gene acquired from a plant at least 35 million years ago allows the pests to neutralize a common chemical defense employed by many plants.

Jixing Xia and Zhaojiang Guo

At some point between 35 million and 80 million years ago, a whitefly landed on a leaf and started sucking its sweet sap.