To understand ecological factors mediating the spread of insect-borne plant pathogens, vector species for these pathogens need to be identified. Grapevine leafroll disease is caused by a complex of phylogenetically related closteroviruses, some of which are transmitted by insect vectors; however, the specificities of these complex virus-vector interactions are poorly understood thus far. Throug...

ABSTRACT The roles of Pineapple mealybug wilt-associated viruses (PMWaVs) and mealybug (Dysmicoccus spp.) feeding in the etiology of mealybug wilt of pineapple (MWP) were evaluated. Container-grown pineapple (Ananas comosus) plants from five commercially grown Hawaiian proprietary selections and a field study utilizing a randomized complete block design were used to test four treatments for ind...

The literature concerning the association between ants and the mealybugs causing pineapple wilt disease is surveyed. A great deal of data on this subject has been published in the relatively obscure technical papers and reports of the defunct Pineapple Research Institute of Hawaii. This review article is an attempt to bring this information to a broader audience and examine it in the context of...

Abstract Background The ladybird beetle Cryptolaemus montrouzieri Mulsant, 1853 (Coleoptera, Coccinellidae) is used worldwide as a biological control agent. It predator of various mealybug pests, but it also feeds on alternative prey and can be reared artificial diets. Relatively little known about the underlying genetic adaptations its feeding habits. Results We report first high-quality genom...

Anagyrus amnestos sp. n. (Hymenoptera: Encyrtidae), a promising parasitoid of the invasive Madeira mealybug, Phenacoccus madeirensis Green (Hemiptera: Pseudococcidae), is described based on material collected from India. This parasitoid was identified as Anagyrus sp. nov. nr. sinope Noyes & Menezes in recent literature, and was initially collected in Georgia, USA. It was found to be a specific ...

It is now generally accepted, as pointed out by Westgate (1945), that the pineapple mealybug, Pseudococcus brevipes (Ckll.), is present in Florida, causing wilt as in other, pineapple growing areas. Control of the pine apple mealybug and/or of the ants infesting the soil and plants is, furthermore, usually considered to effect control of the wilt of pineapples, as shown by Illingworth (1931). B...

Modifications of cis-regulatory DNAs, particularly enhancers, underlie changes in gene expression during animal evolution. Here, we present evidence for a distinct mechanism of regulatory evolution, whereby a novel pattern of gene expression arises from altered gene targeting of a conserved enhancer. The tinman gene complex (Tin-C) controls the patterning of dorsal mesodermal tissues, including...

Induced plant defenses against herbivores are modulated by jasmonic acid-, salicylic acid-, and ethylene-signaling pathways. Although there is evidence that some pathogens suppress plant defenses by interfering with the crosstalk between different signaling pathways, such evidence is scarce for herbivores. Here, we demonstrate that the mealybug Phenacoccus solenopsis suppresses the induced defe...