New Phytologist (2018) 218, 1586-1596

Huifu Zhuang, Juan Li, Juan Song, Christian Hettenhausen, Meredith C. Schuman, Guiling Sun, Cuiping Zhang, Jing Li, Dunlun Song and Jianqiang Wu (2018)
Aphid (Myzus persicae) feeding on the parasitic plant dodder (Cuscuta australis) activates defense responses in both the parasite and soybean host
New Phytologist 218 (4), 1586-1596
Abstract: - Dodders (Cuscuta spp.) are shoot holoparasites, whose haustoria penetrate host tissues to enable fusion between the parasite and host vascular systems, allowing Cuscuta to extract water, nutrients and other molecules from hosts. Aphids are piercing–sucking herbivores that use specialized stylets to feed on phloem sap. Aphids are known to feed on Cuscuta, but how Cuscuta and its host plant respond to aphids attacking the parasite was unknown.
- Phytohormone quantification, transcriptomic analysis and bioassays were performed to determine the responses of Cuscuta australis and its soybean (Glycine max) hosts to the feeding of green peach aphid (GPA; Myzus persicae) on C. australis.
- Decreased salicylic acid levels and 172 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were found in GPA-attacked C. australis, and the soybean hosts exhibited increased jasmonic acid contents and 1015 DEGs, including > 100 transcription factor genes. Importantly, GPA feeding on C. australis increased the resistance of the soybean host to subsequent feeding by the leafworm Spodoptera litura and soybean aphid Aphis glycines, resulting in 21% decreased leafworm mass and 41% reduced aphid survival rate.
- These data strongly suggest that GPA feeding on Cuscuta induces a systemic signal, which is translocated to hosts and activates defense against herbivores.
(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): Dun-Lun Song

Research topic(s) for pests/diseases/weeds:
general biology - morphology - evolution

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Pest and/or beneficial records:

Beneficial	Pest/Disease/Weed	Crop/Product	Country	Quarant.
	Myzus persicae
	Cuscuta australis (weed)	Soybean (Glycine max)