BACKGROUND Flowers are admirable in scenic good looks and artistic beautification. These are also playing necessary roles in therapeutic preparations. Aphid is an important sucking pest of various flowers in ornamental territories and it is generally controlled by predators, so it was necessary to evaluate which aphid species affect the predator more or less. MATERIALS AND METHODS Biocontrol ...

The aphid-ant mutualistic relationships are not necessarily obligate for neither partners but evidence is that such interactions provide them strong advantages in terms of global fitness. While it is largely assumed that ants actively search for their mutualistic partners namely using volatile cues; whether winged aphids (i.e., aphids' most mobile form) are able to select ant-frequented areas h...

We tested the utility of 18 previously characterized Aphis spp. microsatellite loci for polymorphism and differentiation among populations of the soybean aphid, Aphis glycines. Loci were chosen from a closely related species (Aphis gossypii) and a more distantly related species (Aphis fabae). We found nine loci to be polymorphic among Korean and North American populations. Overall expected hete...

Mutualistic interactions between ant and aphid species have been the subject of considerable historical and contemporary investigations, the primary benefits being cleaning and protection for the aphids and carbohydrate-rich honeydew for the ants. Questions remained, however, as to the volatile semiochemical factor influencing this relationship. A recent study highlighted the role of bacterial ...

Aphis polii sp. n. living on Teucrium polium L. (Lamiaceae) is described, based on apterous and alate viviparous females and oviparous females. It has been collected from seventeen localities in mainland France, Corsica, Italy, Ukraine, Lebanon and Iran. The new species is similar to two other Aphis species that feed specifically on plants of the genus Teucrium, but has a relatively longer ulti...

in several parts of the world, important yield losses are caused to faba bean due to attack by the black bean aphid aphis fabae scopoli. although resistance could be a good alternative to chemical control, its genetic basis is still largely unknown; and its phenotypic expression is still poorly described, making crucial the permanent evaluation of genetic resources available in different countr...

Host defenses against parasites do not come for free. The evolution of increased resistance can be constrained by constitutive costs associated with possessing defense mechanisms, and by induced costs of deploying them. These two types of costs are typically considered with respect to resistance as a genetically determined trait, but they may also apply to resistance provided by 'helpers' such ...

The interactions between herbivorous insects and their symbiotic micro-organisms can be influenced by the plant species on which the insects are reared, but the underlying mechanisms are not understood. Here, we identify plant nutrients, specifically amino acids, as a candidate factor affecting the impact of symbiotic bacteria on the performance of the phloem-feeding aphid Aphis fabae. Aphis fa...

The gammaproteobacterium Serratia symbiotica is one of the major secondary symbionts found in aphids. Here, we report the draft genome sequence of S. symbiotica strain CWBI-2.3(T), previously isolated from the black bean aphid Aphis fabae. The 3.58-Mb genome sequence might provide new insights to understand the evolution of insect-microbe symbiosis.

ABSTRACT Thirteen aphid species were tested for their ability to transmit Pennsylvania isolates of Plum pox virus (PPV) collected in Columbia (PENN-3), Franklin (PENN-4), and York (PENN-7) Counties, PA. Four species, Aphis fabae, A. spiraecola, Brachycaudus persicae, and Myzus persicae, consistently transmitted PPV in preliminary transmission tests. Two species, Metopolophium dirhodum and Rhopa...