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Particle film affects black pecan aphid (Homoptera: Aphididae) on pecan.

Three species of aphids attack pecan foliage, Carya illinoensis (Wang.) K. Koch, and cause economic damage. We tested a kaolin-based particle film against one of these aphid species, black pecan aphid, Melanocallis caryaefoliae (Davis). Effect of particle film on host selection, adult mortality, and production of nymphs by M. caryaefoliae was tested on seedling pecans in the laboratory. Fewer M. caryaefoliae adults selected treated foliage compared with untreated foliage. A higher percentage of adults that did select treated foliage were recovered from upper leaf surfaces compared with the percentage of adults recovered from upper leaf surfaces of untreated leaves. Observations with a microscope revealed an accumulation of particle film on aphid body parts, especially on tarsi, and strongly suggests that aphid mobility was restricted. Adult mortality was higher on treated foliage and led to an overall decrease in production of nymphs on those seedlings. In addition, we measured spectral properties of treated seedling pecan foliage. Light reflectance by treated foliage was increased and absorptance decreased compared with control foliage whereas transmittance of light through control and particle film-treated leaves was similar. We did not detect any phytotoxic effect on pecan due to application of particle film.

Animals↗

Economic evaluation of the effects of planting date and application rate of imidacloprid for management of cereal aphids and barley yellow dwarf in winter wheat.

The effects of planting date and application rate of imidacloprid for control of Schizaphis graminum Rondani, Rhopalosiphum padi L. (Homoptera: Aphididae), and barley yellow dwarf virus (BYDV) in hard red winter wheat were studied. The first experiment was conducted from 1997 to 1999 at two locations and consisted of three planting dates and four rates of imidacloprid-treated seed. The second experiment was conducted from 2001 to 2002 in Stillwater, OK, and consisted of two varieties of hard red winter wheat seed and four rates of imidacloprid. Aphid densities, occurrence of BYDV, yield components, and final grain yield were measured, and yield differences were used to estimate the economic return obtained from using imidacloprid. In the first study, aphid populations responded to insecticide rate in the early and middle plantings, but the response was reduced in the late planting. Yields increased as insecticide rate increased but did not always result in a positive economic return. In the second study, imidacloprid seed treatments reduced aphid numbers and BYD occurrence, protected yield, and resulted in a positive economic return. The presence of aphids and BYDV lowered yield by reducing fertile head density, total kernel weight, and test weight. Whereas the application of imidacloprid seed treatments often provided positive yield protection, it did not did not consistently provide a positive economic return. A positive economic return was consistently obtained if the cereal aphid was carrying and transmitting BYDV and was more likely to occur if wheat was treated with a low rate if imidacloprid and planted in a "dual purpose" planting date window.

Agriculture↗

Heterologous encapsidation in transmission of plant viral particles by aphid vectors.

Recently, significant progress has been made in recognizing virus-aphid specificities and identifying the proteins involved in virus transmission by aphids. An essential role of the viral capsid protein in this process has been proved. Heterologous encapsidation between viruses in mixed infections may allow transmission by aphids of normally non-aphid-transmissible viruses or change virus-vector interactions. This review describes the most characteristic examples of the phenomenon. Recent findings regarding transmission by aphids of viroid encapsidated in the viral capsid protein, and of virus encapsidated in transgenic coat protein, are presented.

Animals↗

Effect of temperature and cultivar on pea aphid, Acyrthosiphon pisum (Hemiptera: Aphididae) life history.

Life history parameters of the pea aphid, Acyrthosiphon pisum were studied at five constant temperatures on two cultivars of peas, Scout and Sancho. The development and mortality of juveniles and the life-span, age-specific fecundity and survivorship of adult aphids were recorded and used to construct life tables. The juvenile development period (from birth to adulthood) was longest at 11.9 degrees C (16.8 days on cv. Scout and 16.2 days on cv. Sancho) and shortest at 26.7 degrees C (8.5 days on cv. Scout and 8.8 days on cv. Sancho). At all temperatures, except 26.7 degrees C, juveniles developed faster on cv. Sancho than on cv. Scout. On both pea varieties juvenile mortality was highest at temperatures above 19.6 degrees C and lowest at 19.6 degrees C. Highest cumulative juvenile mortality was recorded on cv. Scout at 26.7 degrees C when only 9% of aphids survived from birth to reproductively mature adults. Fecundity rates were unaffected by temperature in the range tested on cv. Sancho but increased with increasing temperatures between 11.9 and 19.6 degrees C on cv. Scout. These differences in life history parameters were reflected in the population growth (rm) of aphids on both pea cultivars which increased with increasing temperatures between 11.9 and 23.1 degrees C on cv. Sancho and 11.9 and 19.6 degrees C on cv. Scout, declining thereafter. Population growth was consistently greater at all temperatures for aphids reared on cv. Sancho than those reared on cv. Scout.

Animals↗

Screening low fire blight susceptible Crataegus species for host suitability to hawthorn leaf-curling aphids (Dysaphis spp.).

The group of hawthorn leaf-curling aphids (Dysaphis spp.) hosted by the common hawthorn Crataegus monogyna Jacq. may play an important role in the biological control of the rosy apple aphid, Dysaphis plantaginea (Passerini), by increasing reproduction opportunities for the indigenous hymenopteran parasitoid Ephedrus persicae Froggatt. Unfortunately, most fruitgrowers hesitate to introduce the common hawthorn in their orchards because they fear fire blight infections which may be transmitted by this highly susceptible hawthron species. This potential hazard led us to investigate the suitability to leaf-curling aphids of alternative Crataegus species. As representative for these closely-related aphids, the species Dysaphis apiifolia petroselini (Börner) was used in the trials. Ten Crataegus species characterized by their very low susceptibility to fire blight were examined from two angles. Firstly, aphid sexuals were introduced in autumn onto the different species to verify whether egg laying could take place. Secondly, the development of fundatrices and gall formation were followed the next spring. Although eggs and mature fundatrices could be obtained on almost all species, no fundatrice-hosting galls were recorded in spring. The possible causes of these negative results with respect to the geographical origin of the particular Crataegus species involved in this work are discussed.

Animals↗

Aphid specific predators in potato in Belgium.

In summer 2003, aphid specific predators populations were sampled in four potato fields located in Wallonia. Ladybirds, hoverflies and lacewings were the most abundant predators collected. A total of 6 ladybird, 8 syrphid and 2 lacewing species was found. Predator species composition and abundance greatly differed from field to field, while aphids populations were more or less similar with a peak of 3 to 5 aphid/potato leaf in mid-July. All chrysopidae sampled belong to the Chrysoperla kolthoffi (NAVAS) species except 2 specimens of Chrysopa perla L. Episyrphus balteatus DEGEER was the dominant syrphid species. Sphaerophoria scripta L. and Syrphus vitripiennis MEIGEN were subdominant species and 1 or 2 specimens of Melanostoma scalare F., Melanostoma mellinum (L.), Melliscaeva cinctella (ZETTERSTED), Metasyrphus corollae (F.) and Platycheirus albimanus F. were also collected. Coccinella septempunctata (L.) and Propylea quatuordecimpunctata (L.) were the dominant ladybird species. P. 14-punctata was proportionally more abundant in beating samples than with visual inspection samples, indicating that this ladybird is probably more discrete than C. septempunctata and that their populations can be underestimated with only visual inspection. Adalia bipunctata (L.) was also present in nearly all samples, but with lower levels of populations. Coccinella quinquepunctata (L.) and Adalia tenpunctata (L.) were found in small numbers at one occasion. Larvae and adults of Harmonia axyridis PALLAS, the multicoloured Asian beetle introduced in glasshouse for aphid control, were found in 3 fields out of 4, with 1.5 to 6% of ladybirds sampled. This is the first record of H. axyridis in open field in Belgium. As this beetle has been found in numbers at different locations and with different growth stages including larvae and pupae, it is supposed that H. axyridis is adapted to ware potato aphid and able to complete a full life cycle in this crop. As this species is very competitive for exploitation of food resources and aggressive for other predators, they are several questions about the evolution in the future of aphid specific predator biodiversity in ware potato.

Animals↗

Modeling and biological implication of time-dose-mortality data for the entomophthoralean fungus, zoophthora anhuiensis, on the green peach aphid myzus persicae

The entomophthoralean fungus Zoophthora anhuiensis frequently causes epizootics in populations of the green peach aphid, Myzus persicae, infesting cruciferous crops in the middle and lower regions of the Changjiang River, China, during late autumn and early winter. In this study, a bioassay was conducted by exposing aphids on detached leaves to varying doses of Z. anhuiensis conidia discharged from in vitro cultures. Ten doses (1.5-198 conidia/mm2) were used, with each dose including 64-120 aphids. The aphids were maintained at 18 degreesC under a photophase of 12:12 (L:D) and observed daily for mortality. The resulting time-dose-mortality data fitted well to a conditional mortality probability model based on the Hosmer-Lemeshow test (C = 9.52, df = 8, P = 0.70), resulting in a cumulative mortality probability model. The parameters from the latter model were used to estimate the lethal dose (LD50) and time (LT50) for the fungal species against the pest. The LD50 values were 87, 44, and 34 conidia/mm2 on days 5, 6, and 7 after exposure, respectively. The estimates of the LT50 values decreased from 6.7 days at 37 conidia/mm2 to 4.5 days at 198 conidia/mm2. The results indicate that Z. anhuiensis could be a promising aphid pathogen for microbial control competitive with other Zoophthora species. The model is recommended for use in the analysis of time-dose-mortality data for fungus-insect associations. The biological implications of the parameters and the advantages of the modeling technique over the conventional method of probit analysis are discussed. Copyright 1998 Academic Press.

Journal Article↗

Relationship between SO2 dose and growth of the pea aphid, Acyrthosiphon pisum, on peas.

A series of experiments was carried out in controlled environment cabinets to investigate the effects of SO(2) dose on the mean relative growth rate (MRGR) of pea aphids, Acyrthosiphon pisum, feeding on the pea plant, Pisum sativum. There was a significant linear increase in the MRGR of aphids feeding on SO(2)-fumigated plants, relative to control aphids feeding on plants in charcoal-filtered air. The increase in MRGR reached a maximum of 11% at SO(2) concentrations between 90 and 110 nl litre(-1). MRGR declined at higher SO(2) concentrations until above 220 nl litre(-1) it was below that of the controls. The dose-response curve is discussed in relation to reported changes in the nitrogen metabolism of plants subject to air pollution, the response of aphids to host plant nitrogen and possible toxic effects of high concentrations of SO(2) on the aphid.

Journal Article↗

Host cell allometry and regulation of the symbiosis between pea aphids, Acyrthosiphon pisum, and bacteria, Buchnera.

The symbiotic bacteria Buchnera in aphids are borne in cells, called bacteriocytes, in the insect haemocoel. The number and median volume of bacteriocytes in pre-reproductive adult insects varied significantly among 14 parthenogenetic clones of the pea aphid Acyrthosiphon pisum. After logarithmic transformation of the data, the relationship of both number and median volume of bacteriocytes with aphid weight for the clones could be described by common regression lines with slopes significantly greater than zero. The allometric slope for median bacteriocyte volume was calculated as 1.06, by model I regression and 1.94 by model II regression; and the equivalent values of the allometric slope for total volume of bacteriocytes were 1.51 and 2.50, suggesting that the total volume of bacteriocytes increases disproportionately with aphid body weight. The partial correlation coefficient between the number and median volume of bacteriocytes was +0.07, with body weight held constant. It is proposed that the regulation of number and size of bacteriocytes is not linked and that bacteriocytes may not exhibit compensatory changes in size, in response to alteration in number. Experimental manipulation of the rates of bacteriocyte differentiation and division could therefore perturb the total volume of the symbiosis, on which aphid pests depend for normal growth and reproduction.

Journal Article↗

The influence of parasitism on wing development in male and female pea aphids.

Wing formation in presumptive alate morphs (virginoparae and males) was observed for the pea aphid, Acyrthosiphon pisum, exposed to attack by the parasitoid, Aphidius ervi, at different stages of host development. Morphological abnormalities in parasitized aphids such as complete apterization (development of a wingless form), formation of rudimentary wing buds, and deformed wings indicate a possible disruption of the endocrine system. Changes in the body shape and the number of olfactory secondary rhinaria on the antennae could indicate an influence of juvenile hormone in parasitized A. pisum but the development of fifth-stadium supernumerary larvae (indicated by an extra moult and which can be induced by exogenous juvenile hormone treatments) was not found in parasitized aphids. In addition, while apterization of virginoparae can also be induced by the pro-allatocidal compound Precocene III, this was not possible in the male. Males which survived parasitoid attack without forming aphid mummies (indicating that oviposition had not occurred) developed as wingless individuals suggesting that the reproductive-tract-fluids from the female parasitoid were important in the wing inhibition process. Teratocytes from the parasitoid appeared to promote developmental arrest in parasitized aphids.

Journal Article↗

Gene expression profiling of Arabidopsis thaliana in compatible plant-aphid interactions.

Phloem feeding involves unique biological interactions between the herbivore and its host plant. The economic importance of aphids, whiteflies, and other phloem-feeding insects as pests has prompted research to isolate sources of resistance to piercing-sucking insects in crops. However, little information exists about the molecular nature of plant sensitivity to phloem feeding. Recent discoveries involving elicitation by plant pathogens and chewing insects and limited studies on phloem feeders suggest that aphids are capable of inducing responses in plants broadly similar to those associated with pathogen infection and wounding. Our past work showed that compatible aphid feeding on leaves of Arabidopsis thaliana induces localized changes in levels of transcripts of genes that are also associated with infection, mechanical damage, chewing herbivory, or resource allocation shifts. We used microarray and macroarray gene expression analyses of infested plants to better define the response profile of A. thaliana to M. persicae feeding. The results suggest that genes involved in oxidative stress, calcium-dependent signaling, pathogenesis-related responses, and signaling are key components of this profile in plants infested for 72 or 96 h. The use of plant resistance to aphids in crops will benefit from a better understanding of induced responses. The establishment of links between insect elicitation, plant signaling associated with phloem feeding, and proximal resistance mechanisms is critical to further research progress in this area.

Animals↗

A comparison of parthenogenetic and sexual embryogenesis of the pea aphid Acyrthosiphon pisum (Hemiptera: Aphidoidea).

Aphids exhibit divergent modes of embryogenesis during the sexual and asexual phases of the life cycle. To explore how a single genome can give rise to these alternative developmental modes, we have initiated embryological studies of the pea aphid, Acyrthosiphon pisum. Here we present a detailed description of parthenogenetic, viviparous embryonic development in the pea aphid. We compare and contrast development of the parthenogenetic embryo with that of the embryo resulting from sexual reproduction. The primary difference between the embryos is the scale on which development occurs: early parthenogenetic development occurs in a volume approximately three orders of magnitude smaller than the sexual egg, largely because of the apparent absence of yolk in the parthenogenetic egg. This results in a drastically different duration of syncytial energid cleavage and, presumably, patterning processes in the two embryos must act at scales that differ by orders of magnitude. The eggs also develop on time scales that differ approximately by an order of magnitude and the timing of the embryonic movements, collectively called blastokinesis, have temporally shifted relative to growth of the embryo. In addition, the endosymbiotic bacteria are transferred from mother to embryo in different ways in the two embryos. Finally, the function of the serosa has diverged greatly in the two embryos: in the sexual egg the serosa deposits a thick cuticle that protects the egg, whereas the serosa of the parthenogenetic embryo is greatly reduced and its function is unclear. The pea aphid is a useful model system for examining how a single genome has evolved to allow divergent modes of development.

Animals↗

Toxicity of biorational insecticides: activity against the green peach aphid, Myzus persicae (Sulzer).

The relationship between dose for each of four biorational insecticides (pyrethrins, neem extract, capsiacin extract, insecticidal soap) and mortality of the green peach aphid (Myzus persicae) was determined using a laboratory bioassay. These insecticides were toxic to aphids and paired mixtures of the insecticides provided synergistic activity as measured by aphid mortality under the laboratory bioassay conditions. Capsiacin extracts were found to provide low levels of mortality alone but acted synergistically in mixtures with the other insecticides and provided higher than expected levels of mortality. Activity as determined in the laboratory for each insecticide was not evident under field-use conditions in five separate experiments. Under field conditions and using common application methods, these insecticides did not provide significant levels of control of aphids.

Agriculture↗

Biotypic and pest status differences between Hungarian and South African populations of Russian wheat aphid, Diuraphis noxia (Kurdjumov) (Homoptera: Aphididae).

Russian wheat aphid, Diuraphis noxia (Kurdjumov) is a severe pest of cereals in South Africa and in the USA. In order to reduce D noxia damage, intensive resistance breeding programs have been undertaken, resulting in D noxia-resistant cultivars that are now widely used in South Africa and in the USA. However, there appear to be differences in the ability of different populations of D noxia to damage these resistant cereal cultivars. To determine whether different biotypes of D noxia are present, damage to eight wheat cultivars was compared when they were exposed to either Hungarian or South African aphid strains. It appeared that the Hungarian CVS MV Magdaléna, MV Magvas, and MV 17 were susceptible to D noxia from both Hungary and South Africa. The susceptible South African CV Betta was also severely damaged regardless of the country of origin of the aphids. None of the cultivars resistant in South Africa (Caledon, SST 333, SST 972 and Halt) were, however, resistant to Hungarian populations of D noxia. These cultivars, which carry resistance genes originating from the breeding lines PI 262660, PI 137739 and PI 372129, were severely damaged by the Hungarian D noxia. Apart from the highly resistant CV Halt, the resistant cultivars used in this study were developed in South Africa, with the biotype present there. Damage to all cultivars tested was significantly more severe in response to Hungarian than to South African D noxia, indicating that a more damaging aphid biotype occurs in Hungary. However, D noxia has not yet become a pest of wheat in Hungary, possibly due to a difference in cultural practices.

Animals↗

Geographical distribution and host range of entomophthorales infecting the green spruce aphid Elatobium abietinum Walker in Iceland.

Entomophthora planchoniana and Neozygites fresenii caused infection in populations of the green spruce aphid, Elatobium abietinum, in Iceland. On this aphid species En. planchoniana was exclusively found in the western part of Iceland, while N. fresenii was exclusively found in the eastern part of Iceland. This discrete and nearly nonoverlapping geographical distribution correlates with the distribution of two different populations of El. abietinum found in Iceland. On other aphid species N. fresenii, En. planchoniana, Pandora neoaphidis, and Conidiobolus obscurus were documented throughout the country. Transmission experiments showed that Pa. neoaphidis and En. planchoniana could infect the eastern population of El. abietinum, although they have never been found on this population in nature. This strongly indicates that there is little or no interaction among El. abietinum, other aphids, and their respective entomophthoralean fungi in the field. Furthermore, this study is the first to record epizootics caused by N. fresenii and En. planchoniana in the subpolar region.

Animals↗

Evolution of the tryptophan biosynthetic pathway in Buchnera (aphid endosymbionts): studies of plasmid-associated trpEG within the genus Uroleucon.

Aphids obtain tryptophan from prokaryotic endosymbionts assigned to the genus Buchnera. The rate-limiting enzyme in tryptophan biosynthes, anthranilate synthase, is encoded by the genes trpE and trpG. In Buchnera within the family Aphididae, trpEG is plasmid-borne, apparently as an adaptation to overproduce tryptophan for hosts. To explore the evolution of these plasmids, sequences for trpEG, the upstream region containing the plasmid origin of replication, and chromosomal trpB were obtained for Buchnera of three species in the aphid genus Uroleucon and analyzed together with sequences for six other aphid species. Phylogenies based on trpB and trpEG agree with each other and with previous views of aphid phylogeny. Synonymous substitutions are about twice as high for plasmid-borne genes as for chromosomal genes in the same lineages, suggesting higher mutation rates for genes on plasmids. Nonsynonymous rates for trpEG are accelerated within Buchnera of Uroleucon, indicating a change in selection intensity within this genus. Accelerated evolution within Uroleucon also seems to characterize the upstream region containing the putative origin of replication.

Animals↗

Biological activity of cauliflower mosaic virus aphid transmission factor expressed in a heterologous system.

Aphid transmission factor (ATF) activity of cauliflower mosaic virus (CaMV) gene II product was recovered after expression of the gene by a baculovirus recombinant. The expression product, when first acquired by aphids through parafilm membrane, was able to mediate the transmission of two aphid nontransmissible isolates (CM1841, CM4-184) providing the first direct evidence that the product of the gene II is the CaMV ATF. The CaMV ATF in its active conformation has a strong tendency to aggregate and all attempts at solubilizing it resulted in the loss of the ATF activity. The CaMV ATF was also expressed in Escherichia coli, using the pGEX 3X plasmid vector, as a fusion protein to glutathione S-transferase (GST) and was purified. The fusion product (GST-P18), whether purified or not, was not able to complement the transmission of transmission-defective isolates. However, when GST-P18 was added to some extracts from a plant infected with an aphid-transmissible isolate (Cabb B-JI), the transmission was inhibited. This suggests that it could be possible to block the in vitro transmission of CaMV using a molecule analogous to the ATF.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

Effects of mutations in the beet western yellows virus readthrough protein on its expression and packaging and on virus accumulation, symptoms, and aphid transmission.

Virions of beet western yellows luteovirus contain a major capsid protein (P22.5) and a minor readthrough protein (P74), produced by translational readthrough of the major capsid protein sequence into the neighboring open reading frame, which encodes the readthrough domain (RTD). The RTD contains determinants required for efficient virus accumulation in agroinfected plants and for aphid transmission. The C-terminal halves of the RTD are not well conserved among luteoviruses but the N-terminal halves contain many conserved sequence motifs, including a proline-rich sequence separating the rest of the RTD from the sequence corresponding to the major coat protein. To map different biological functions to these regions, short in-frame deletions were introduced at different sites in the RTD and the mutant genomes were transmitted to protoplasts as transcripts and to Nicotiana clevelandii by agroinfection. Deletions in the nonconserved portion of the RTD did not block aphid transmission but had a moderate inhibitory effect on virus accumulation in plants and abolished symptoms. Deletion of the proline tract and the junction between the conserved and nonconserved regions inhibited readthrough protein accumulation in protoplasts by at least 10-fold. The mutants accumulated small amounts of virus in plants, did not induce symptoms, and were nontransmissible by aphids using agroinfected plants, extracts of infected protoplasts, or purified virus as a source of inoculum. Other deletions in the conserved portion of the RTD did not markedly diminish readthrough protein accumulation but abolished its incorporation into virions. These mutants accumulated to low levels in agroinfected plants and elicited symptoms, but could not be aphid-transmitted. A preliminary map has been produced mapping these functions to different parts of the RTD.

Amino Acid Sequence↗