Aphids induce many transcriptional perturbations in their host plants, but the signalling cascades responsible and the effects on plant resistance are largely unknown. Through a genome-wide association (GWA) mapping study in Arabidopsis thaliana, we identified WRKY22 as a candidate gene associated with feeding behaviour of the green peach aphid, Myzus persicae The transcription factor WRKY22 is...

The tobacco aphid, Myzus persicae nicotianae is an economically important pest of tobacco, causing extensive yield losses especially as it is an important host of numerous viruses and the sudden shift from the green morph to the red morph is of concern as reports of insecticide resistance are common in this morph. The efficacy of several insecticides was studied, both in the laboratory and in t...

Aphid-transmitted plant viruses are a threat for major crops causing massive economic loss worldwide. Members in the Luteoviridae family are transmitted by aphids in a circulative and non-replicative mode. Virions are acquired by aphids when ingesting sap from infected plants and are transported through the gut and the accessory salivary gland (ASG) cells by a transcytosis mechanism relying on ...

Nicotinic acid containing pyridine nucleus having side chain at third position gives the significant effect on toxicity to the insects. Therefore, we have reported the synthesis of some nicotinic acid derivatives and their insecticidal activities. The strategy employed for the synthesis of desired nicotinic acid derivatives involved esterification of nicotinic acid. The methyl nicotinate get de...

The natural occurrence of entomophthoralean fungi pathogenic towards aphids on cereal and potato crops was investigated in the years 2009, 2010, and 2011. Infected aphids were sampled in three bioclimatic zones in Tunisia (Beja, Cap bon, and Kairouan) and fungal species were determined based on morphological characters such as shape, size, and number of nuclei in the primary conidia. Polymerase...

Aphids commonly harbour facultative bacterial endosymbionts and may benefit from their presence through increased resistance to parasitoids. This has been demonstrated for Hamiltonella defensa and Serratia symbiotica, while a third common endosymbiont, Regiella insecticola, did not provide such protection. However, this symbiont was recently detected in a highly resistant clone of the peach-pot...

Ecological immunology distinguishes between the long-term evolutionary costs of possessing defences against parasites and the short-term costs of using them. Evolutionary biologists have typically focused on the former in the search for constraints on the evolution of resistance. Here, we show in the peach-potato aphid, Myzus persicae, that short-term costs may be of equal evolutionary importan...