Detoxification of cereal plant allelochemicals by aphids: Activity and molecular weights of glutathioneS-transferase in three species of cereal aphids

The activity and molecular weights of glutathioneS-transferase were studied in three species of cereal aphid:Metopolophium dirhodum, Sitobion avenae, andRhopalosiphum padi. The highest level of glutathioneS-transferase activity was recorded in extracts fromM. dirhodum and the lowest fromS. avenae, and extracts of larvae were more active than those from adults. The activity of this enzyme was higher in extracts ofS. avenae andR. padi previously fed on a moderately resistant wheat variety than on a susceptible variety. Gel filtration followed by SDS-PAGE revealed three protein bands in the active fractions. The first had a molecular weight of 28,500 and the second of 27,500 and were present in all three species of aphid. The third protein differed in the three species, having a molecular weight of 26,000 inS. avenae, 25,500 inM. dirhodum, and 24,000 inR. padi.     

Activity of drimane antifeedants and related compounds against aphids,and comparative biological effects and chemical reactivity of (−)- and (+)-polygodial

A series of natural drimanes and related synthetic compounds was tested for antifeedant activity against aphids. Polygodial and warburganal were the most active. The synthetic compounds methyl 9-hydroxydrimenoate and 9-hydroxydrimenal, although active against lepidopteran larvae, were inactive against aphids. Natural (–)-polygodial and the synthetic (+) isomer showed similar levels of activity as aphid antifeedants and in phytotoxicity, fish toxicity, and human taste tests, but reacted at different rates with enantiomers of 1-phenylethylamine.     

Presence of a hydroxamic acid glucoside in wheat phloem sap,and its consequences for performance ofRhopalosiphum padi (L.) (Homoptera: Aphididae)

Phloem sap of wheat seedlings differing in whole leaf hydroxamic acid (Hx) concentrations was collected by cutting stylets of feeding aphids. DIMBOA-glucoside was the only Hx-related product found. Concentration of DIMBOA-glucoside in phloem sap showed a tendency to be negatively correlated with aphid performance.     

Quantification of electroantennogram responses of the primary rhinaria ofAcyrthosiphon pisum (Harris) to C4-C8 primary alcohols and aldehydes

Electroantennograms (EAGs) of the distal and proximal primary rhinaria (DPR and PPR, respectively) were recorded from excised antennae of alate virginoparous pea aphids,Acyrthosiphon pisum (Harris) (Homoptera: Aphididae). Primary unsaturated alcohols and aldehydes with varying carbon length (C₄–C₈) were used as volatile stimuli. EAGs were recorded for a series of source concentrations from the DPR and PPR separately through the use of sectional electroantennography. A logistic equation was fitted to the source concentration-response data. Differences in relative EAG response of the DPR and PPR to the alcohols and aldehydes were analyzed by deriving five parameters from this logistic equation. These parameters relate to particular characteristics of sigmoid curves: the saturation (maximum) EAG response (R _s ), the concentration for which the relative EAG response is &frac;R _s (CR₅₀), the stimulus response range (SR _0.9), the threshold concentration (CR₁), and the EAG response area (A _R ). Of these parameters, the EAG response area showed the largest separation between EAG responses of the DPR and PPR to the two homologous groups and between compounds with varying carbon chain lengths. The DPR was significantly more responsive to alcohols than to aldehydes, while the reverse was true for the PPR, indicating a basic difference between the two primary rhinaria. The highest overall responses were elicited by 1-hexanol, hexanal, and heptanal.     

Attraction and repulsion of the aphid,Cavariella aegopodii,by Plant Odors

Cavariella aegopodii is induced to land on traps by the monoterpene carvone, and the relevance of this to host-finding by the aphid is discussed. Catches are reduced by linalool. The interaction of plant chemicals in natural communities is discussed, and the possibility of using repellent chemicals for crop protection is suggested.     

Antifeedant activity of extracts from neem,Azadirachta indica,to strawberry aphid,Chaetosiphon fragaefolii

Leaf disk choice test bioassays demonstrated that formulated neem seed oil (NSO) was equally deterrent to first- and third-instar nymphs and adult strawberry aphids,Chaetosiphon fragaefolii (Cockerell). Concentrations of NSO resulting in 50% feeding deterrence were approximately 1.1% for this species. The rapid disruption of aphid feeding (<1 hr) was not related to the presence of the limonoid azadirachtin, and deterrence likely results from the combined activity of several compounds. Activity toC. fragaefolii disappeared within 12–24 hr following application to strawberry in the greenhouse. NSO was deterrent to only half of the six aphid species tested. The antifeedant properties of neem do not appear to contribute significantly to the control of aphids and the viruses they transmit.     

Identification of Semiochemicals Released During Aphid Feeding That Attract Parasitoid Aphidius ervi

Herbivore induced release of plant volatiles mediating the foraging behavior of the aphid parasitoid Aphidius ervi was investigated using the pea aphid, Acyrthosiphon pisum, feeding on broad bean, Vicia faba. Behavioral responses were studied using an olfactometer and a wind tunnel. Volatiles obtained by air entrainment of aphid infested plants were more attractive to A. ervi than those from uninfested plants, in both behavioral bioassays. GC-EAG of both extracts showed a number of peaks associated with responses by A. ervi, but with some differences between extracts. Compounds giving these peaks were tentatively identified by GC-MS and confirmed by comparison with authentic samples on GC, using two columns of different polarity. The activity of pure compounds was further investigated by EAG and wind tunnel assays. Results showed that, of the compounds tested, 6-methyl-5-hepten-2-one was the most attractive for A. ervi females, with linalool, (Z)-3-hexen-1-yl acetate, (E)--ocimene, (Z)-3-hexen-1-ol, and (E)--farnesene all eliciting significantly more oriented flight behavior than a solvent control. Foraging experience significantly increased parasitoid responses to these compounds, with the exception of (E)--farnesene. Time-course GC analysis showed that feeding of A. pisum on V. faba induced or increased the release of several compounds. Release of two of these compounds (6-methyl-5-hepten-2-one and geranic acid) was not induced by the nonhost black bean aphid, Aphis fabae. During the analysis period, production of (E)--ocimene remained constant, but 6-methyl-5-hepten-2-one, linalool, geranic acid, and (E)--farnesene appeared during the first day after A. pisum infestation and increased in concentration with increasing time of aphid feeding.     

Hydroxamic acid glucosides in honeydew of aphids feeding on wheat

DIMBOA glucoside (2-O-/gb-D-glucopyranosyl-4-hydroxy-7-meth-oxy-1,4-benzoxazin-3-one), the main hydroxamic acid (Hx) in intact wheat plants, was detected in the honey dew ofRhopalosiphum padi feeding on seedlings of six wheat cultivars that differed in their concentration of Hx, suggesting that the chemical circulates in the phloem. Neither the aglucone (DIMBOA) nor its main breakdown product were found in any of the honeydew samples. Honey dew production by aphids caged on seedlings of the wheat cultivars and DIMBOA glucoside concentrations in the honeydew followed biphasic curves when plotted against Hx concentration, suggesting passive ingestion of the chemical from the phloem at low Hx concentrations and limited ingestion due to feeding deterrency by Hx in mesophyll cells at high Hx concentrations. The presence of plant toxins such as Hx glucosides in the phloem sap, the main ingesta of aphids, and in the mesophyll cells, has major implications for plant defense, through a feeding deterrent effect during stylet penetration, and deterrency (antixenosis) along with antibiosis during feeding.     

Interactions Between Host-plant Volatiles and the Sex Pheromones of the Bird Cherry-oat Aphid, <Emphasis Type="Italic">Rhopalosiphum padi</Emphasis> and the Damson-hop Aphid, <Emphasis Type="Italic">Phorodon humuli</Emphasis>

The bird cherry-oat aphid, Rhopalosiphum padi (L.), and the damson-hop aphid, Phorodon humuli (Schrank), migrate at the same time of year and colonize closely related Prunus spp. as primary hosts, but utilize (1R,4aS,7S,7aR)-nepetalactol and (1RS,4aR,7S,7aS)-nepetalactol, respectively, as sex pheromones. Interactions between these sex pheromones and benzaldehyde and methyl salicylate, plant volatiles common to primary hosts of both species, were investigated to assess whether they confer reproductive isolation between these species. Female autumn migrants (gynoparae) and males of these two species were caught in the field with water traps baited with their respective sex pheromones. Rhopalosiphum padi gynoparae and males also responded positively to benzaldehyde. Release of either benzaldehyde or methyl salicylate with the conspecific sex pheromone increased catches of both species of aphid. However, releasing both plant volatiles with the sex pheromone of R. padi increased catches of gynoparae and males, but reduced those with the sex pheromone of P. humuli. These results support the hypothesis that specific plant volatiles synergize responses of autumn migrating aphids to their sex pheromone. Because these interactions are species-specific, they may be important in allowing males to discriminate between conspecific sexual females (oviparae) and those of other aphid species.     

Aphid feeding deterrents in sorghum

Improvements in a synthetic diet for use in a bioassay to screen for feeding deterrents againstSchizaphis graminum, greenbug, are reported. Feeding on the synthetic diet was highly pH dependent with maximum feeding occurring at about pH 8.0. The bioassay was used as a guide in the isolation of feeding deterrent substances from aphid-resistant lines of sorghum (Sorghum bicolor). The major greenbug feeding deterrents isolated from sorghum leaves wereP-hydroxybenzaldehyde (ED₅₀ 0.13%), dhurrin (ED₅₀ 0.16%), and procyanidin (ED₅₀ 0.08%).Reference to a company and/or product named by the department is only for purposes of information and does not imply approval or recommendation of the product to the exclusion of others which may also be suitable.