ARS | Publication request: CEREAL APHID INDUCED PHYSIOLOGICAL MODIFICATION OF THE HOST FEEDING SITE

Submitted to: International Plant Protection Congress
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: March 1, 2004
Publication Date: May 13, 2004
Citation: Burd, J.D., Porter, D.R., Huang, Y. 2004. Cereal aphid induced physiological modification of the host feeding site [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 15th International Plant Protection Congress, May 11-16, 2004, Beijing, China. p. 83.

Technical Abstract: The greenbug, Schizaphis graminum (Rondani), is an important pest of wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) in the United States. Economic infestations occur annually and are primarily controlled by insecticides. One alternative approach to greenbug management has been the development and use of resistant crops, however, the occurrence of new greenbug biotypes has been a major obstacle to their deployment. Therefore, it is important that a fundamental understanding of the mechanisms of greenbug damage be established to facilitate new approaches for seeking biotype-specific resistant plant sources. Greenbugs feed from the phloem, yet little is known of how the greenbug exploits this tissue. Radiolabeled sucrose was used to assess the effects of biotype-specific greenbug feeding on phloem function and to evaluate the movement and accumulation within the plant of greenbug-injected salivary compounds. Greenbug feeding significantly altered phloem translocation processes of both resistant and susceptible plants, however, phloem integrity was never impeded. In addition, greenbug salivary constituents were injected into the host plant and were found to accumulate in root tissues.