Summary auto-generated
This study investigated how different aphid species transmit potyviruses (tobacco etch virus and turnip mosaic virus) and the role of the helper component (HC) protein in transmission specificity. Four aphid species were tested: Myzus persicae and Aphis gossypii transmitted both viruses efficiently, Lipaphis erysimi transmitted only turnip mosaic virus, and Myzus ascalonicus transmitted neither. Electrical recordings of stylet probing behavior showed no significant differences between species that could explain these transmission patterns. When aphids acquired purified viruses through membranes, transmission patterns matched those from infected plants. Critically, when L. erysimi acquired tobacco etch virus with turnip mosaic virus HC instead of the homologous HC, it transmitted the virus efficiently, comparable to M. persicae. This demonstrates that HC source directly regulates transmission specificity. Autoradiography of radioiodine-labeled virions showed strong correlation between HC-mediated virus retention in stylets and successful transmission. These findings indicate that vector-specific transmission differences depend on compatibility between the viral HC protein and components in individual aphid species' stylets, rather than behavioral differences.
Key findings
- Helper component (HC) source directly regulates aphid transmission specificity for potyviruses, demonstrated by Lipaphis erysimi's ability to transmit tobacco etch virus only when acquired with turnip mosaic virus HC
- Transmission specificity is not determined by behavioral differences in aphid probing patterns, which were similar across all four species tested
- Virus retention in aphid stylets is highly correlated with HC-aphid compatibility and directly determines transmission efficiency
- Different aphid species have differential ability to interact with specific HC proteins, leading to qualitative and quantitative transmission differences
This summary was generated automatically from the article PDF and is not part of the original publication. Refer to the PDF for the authoritative text.
Abstract
Four aphid species were tested for their ability to transmit tobacco etch (TEV) and turnip mosaic (TuMV) potyviruses. Myzus persicae and Aphis gossypii transmitted both viruses efficiently from infected plants, whereas Lipaphis erysimi transmitted only TuMV and Myzus ascalonicus was a poor or non-transmitter of either virus. Similar electrically monitored probing patterns were produced by M. persicae, L. erysimi and M. ascalonicus, ruling out behavioural differences as the cause of differential transmission. Transmission results similar to those from infected plants were obtained when these aphids acquired homologous virus/helper component (HC) mixtures through membranes. With heterologous virus/HC mixtures, M. persicae remained a highly efficient vector and M. ascalonicus a non-vector, but L. erysimi became an efficient vector of TEV if acquired in the presence of TuMV HC and A. gossypii transmitted both viruses less efficiently when acquired with TuMV HC. Transmission was highly correlated with the retention of virus in the stylets, as determined by autoradiography of 125I-labelled virions. The results show that constituent(s) of or in the food canal of different aphid species differ in their ability to interact with specific HCs, leading to qualitative or quantitative differences in ability to retain and subsequently transmit specific potyviruses.