Modification of Non-Vector Aphid Feeding Behavior on Virus-Infected Host Plant

Virus-infected host plants can have positive, neutral or negative effects on vector aphids. Even though the proportion of non-vector aphids associated with a plant far exceeds that of vector species, little is known about the effect of virus-infected plants on non-vector aphids. In the present study, the English grain aphid Sitobion avenae (Fabricius) (Hemiptera: Aphididae), a non-vector of Wheat dwarf virus (WDV) and Cereal yellow dwarf virus-RPV (CYDV-RPV), was monitored on, virus-infected, virus-free and leafhopper/aphid-infested, and virus- and insect-free (control) barley, Hordeum vulgare L. (Poales: Poaceae), plants. Electrical penetration graph recordings were performed. Compared with the control plants, S. avenae on infected plants exhibited reduced non-probing and pathway phase, and increased phloem sap ingestion phase, and more aphids reached sustained phloem ingestion. However, the electrical penetration graph parameters described above showed no significant differences in aphid feeding behavior on virus-free and vector pre-infested plants and the control barley plants during S. avenae feeding. The results suggest that WDV/CYDV-RPV-infected host plants positively affected the feeding behavior of the non-vector aphid S. avenae. Based on these results, the reasons and trends among the virus-infected host plants' effects on the feeding behavior of non-vector aphids are discussed.