The abundance and distribution of microsatellites, or simple sequence repeats (SSRs) were explored in the expressed sequence tag (EST) and genomic sequences of the pea aphid, Acyrthosiphon pisum (Harris), and the green peach aphid, Myzus persicae (Sulzer). A total of 108 newly developed, together with 40 published, SSR markers were investigated for their cross-species transferability among six ...

The spr2 mutation in tomato (Solanum lycopersicum), which disrupts function of FATTY ACID DESATURASE 7 (FAD7), confers resistance to the potato aphid (Macrosiphum euphorbiae) and modifies the plant’s C6 volatile profiles. To investigate whether C6 volatiles play a role in resistance, HYDROPEROXIDE LYASE (HPL), which encodes a critical enzyme in C6 volatile synthesis, was silenced in wild-...

Aphids are amongst the most devastating sap-feeding insects of plants. Like most plant parasites, aphids require intimate associations with their host plants to gain access to nutrients. Aphid feeding induces responses such as clogging of phloem sieve elements and callose formation, which are suppressed by unknown molecules, probably proteins, in aphid saliva. Therefore, it is likely that aphid...

Populations of Brachycaudus schwartzi (Börner) were found on peach and nectarine (Prunus persica Siebold & Zuccarini) trees in Parlier, CA, in summer 2000. To determine if this aphid could be a pest of P. persica, a nine-variety host range test was conducted using a no-choice arena and temperature-dependent development studies of the aphid at 15, 20, 22.5, 25, 27.5, 30, and 32.5 C. Nectarine va...