ARS | Publication request: Comparative analysis of Asian citrus psyllid and Potato psyllid antennae

Submitted to: Meeting Abstract
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: June 14, 2010
Publication Date: June 16, 2010
Citation: Arras, J., Bextine, B.R., Hunter, W.B. 2010. Comparative analysis of Asian citrus psyllid and Potato psyllid antennae [astract]. National Citrus Research Coordination Symposium, June 16-18, 2010, Denver, Colorado.

Technical Abstract: The comparative investigation of the morphological basis for olfactory reception in two psyllid species, Diaphorina citri (the Asian citrus psyllid), and Bacterocera cockerelli (the potato/tomato psyllid) (both species Hemiptera:Psyllidae) was performed using scanning electron microscopy to elucidate the sensory mechanisms used by these two psyllids in host selection and mating. Two different host plant niches are used by each psyllid. While D. citri is essentially monophagous feeding only on citrus and near relatives of citrus, B. cockerelli feeds on a wide range of Solanaceous plants. In this study, two different antennal sensory arrays were identified, with a more complex arrangement occurring in D. citri than B. cockerelli. The antenna length of D. citri was 0.23mm long and contained 10 segments, while B. cockerelli had antenna of 0.60 mm length with 10 segments. In both species, apically on the sensillus terminalis there are two conspicuous multi-porus single-walled bristles. These were longer in B. cockerelli. Mechano- and chemosensory hairs appear in low numbers on all segments in both species, with higher number of sensillae on distal segments. Diaphorina citri coevolved with its citrus host plant in tropical Asian countries thus locating the strong aromatic plants was most likely less difficult, and females would be constrained to a specific host plant. B. cockerelli, which has fewer olfactory sensilla and feeds on a wider host range, may have more sensitivity to specific chemical cues used to locate the opposite gender for mating, which could occur on many different host plants.