Entomologia Experimentalis et Applicata (2018) 166, 380-385

Emilie Bosquee, Antoine Boullis, Morgane Bertaux, Frédéric Francis and François J. Verheggen (2018)
Dispersion of Myzus persicae and transmission of Potato virus Y under elevated CO₂ atmosphere
Entomologia Experimentalis et Applicata 166 (5), 380-385
Abstract: Most phytoviruses use insect vectors to spread and infect the surrounding crop plants. Because atmospheric gas concentrations alter the physiology and metabolism of plants, we hypothesize that the concentration of carbon dioxide (CO₂) affects the spread of viruses, due to modifications in the feeding behavior of the vector. Tobacco plants, Nicotiana tabacum L. (Solanaceae), and green peach aphids, Myzus persicae (Sulzer) (Hemiptera: Aphididae), were cultivated under ambient (450 p.p.m., termed aCO₂) and elevated (800 p.p.m., eCO₂) concentrations of CO₂. For each atmospheric condition, we first evaluated the ability of the Potato virus Y to spread in a small experimental design, from a central infected tobacco plant to two surrounding circles of healthy plants in presence of aphid vectors for 7 days. The number of aphids recovered on each plant and the infection status of the plants (i.e., healthy vs. infected) were assessed at the end of the experiment. We also evaluated the ability of aphids to transmit the virus under the two experimental atmospheres, by immediately transferring a single insect from an infected plant to a healthy one. The presence of virus in healthy plants was then determined. We found that aphid dispersal, as well as the associated spread of viruses, did not differ between the two atmospheres. On the other hand, we found that aphids grown under eCO₂ were more efficient in transmitting viruses to healthy plants compared to aphids reared under aCO₂ conditions. The results of this experiment indicate that: (1) the ability of an aphid vector to spread a phytovirus is not affected by the level of CO₂ at short time and spatial scales, but (2) the concentration of CO₂ may affect plant defenses or the feeding behavior of herbivorous insects, resulting in more efficient viral transmission from the vector to the host plant.
(The abstract is excluded from the Creative Commons licence and has been copied with permission by the publisher.)
Link to article at publishers website
Database assignments for author(s): François J. Verheggen, Frédéric Francis

Research topic(s) for pests/diseases/weeds:
transmission/dispersal of plant diseases
environment - cropping system/rotation

---

Pest and/or beneficial records:

Beneficial	Pest/Disease/Weed	Crop/Product	Country	Quarant.
	Myzus persicae
	Potato virus Y