Comparison ofPotato Virus Y andPlum Pox Virus transmission by two aphid species in relation to their probing behavior

Abstract

Two different aphid species,Myzus persicae (Sulzer) andHyalopterus pruni (Geoffroy) (Homoptera: Aphididae), were used to analyze their ability to transmit two different potyviruses,Potato virus Y (PVY) andPlum pox virus (PPV), to pepper (Capsicum annuum) andNicotiana benthamiana plants, respectively. In parallel experiments,M. persicae consistently transmitted both viruses with high efficiency, whereasH. pruni always failed to transmit either virus. This is in contrast to previous reports describingH. pruni as a vector of these potyviruses. Different aphid probing behavior among individual aphids of each species was obtained in electrical penetration graph (EPG) experiments performed on pepper plants. This suggested thatH. pruni did not transmit these potyviruses due to behavioral differences during probing that impeded virus acquisition and/or inoculation. It was found thatM. persicae usually makes its first probe within the first 2 min, whereasH. pruni individuals remained for more than 10 min on the plant before starting to probe. Furthermore,M. persicae individuals displayed their first intracellular puncture during the first minute of probing whereasH. pruni needed ∼ 15 min to penetrate the cell plasmalemma with their stylets. In addition, intracellular stylet punctures occurred very frequently forM. persicae but was a rare event, never exceeding a single one, forH. pruni. The relevance of these findings for the epidemiological spread of potyviruses by different aphid species is discussed.