Euphytica (2011) 177, 299-307

João Gomes da Costa, Edjane Vieira Pires, Alessandro Riffel, Michael A. Birkett, Ervino Bleicher and Antônio Euzébio Goulart Sant'Ana (2011)
Differential preference of Capsicum spp. cultivars by Aphis gossypii is conferred by variation in volatile semiochemistry
Euphytica 177 (3), 299-307
Abstract: The aim of this study was to demonstrate that Capsicum spp. cultivars are differentially preferred by the cotton aphid, Aphis gossypii, and to investigate the role of volatile semiochemicals in conferring differences in host preferences. Two preference assays were conducted in 2008 under greenhouse conditions. Fourteen different commercially available cultivars were grown in cages protected by an anti-aphid net, and were infested 60 days after planting, through the release of ten adult female A. gossypii per plant. The results showed that after a five-day infestation period, statistically significant differences in the mean number of A. gossypii between cultivars were observed, with Sweet Pepper Hybrid Green Belt (SPHGB) being one of the cultivars with the lowest number of A. gossypii per plant. To test the hypothesis that the preference of cultivars was associated with release of volatile, Capsicum spp-derived semiochemicals, olfactometer behavior bioassays were conducted with A. gossypii, using volatile organic compounds (VOCs) collected from non-preferred SPHGB and preferred SPAB cultivars. A. gossypii was significantly repelled only by the VOCs of infested SPHGB. Furthermore, coupled gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) analysis of VOCs released by plants prior to, and after, A. gossypii infestation, revealed that the non-preferred SPHGB cultivar released nine additional compounds after infestation, including 6-methyl-5-hepten-2-one, a known plant defense semiochemical involved in plant-aphid interactions. These data suggest that non-preferred cultivars releasing this semiochemical have the potential to be used in breeding programs aimed at producing A. gossypii-resistant Capsicum spp. cultivars.
(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): Michael A. Birkett

Research topic(s) for pests/diseases/weeds:
resistance/tolerance/defence of host

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Pest and/or beneficial records:

Beneficial	Pest/Disease/Weed	Crop/Product	Country	Quarant.
	Aphis gossypii	Green pepper/chilli (Capsicum)