Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2017 Jun 2;12(6):e0178609.
doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0178609. eCollection 2017.

Acizzia solanicola (Hemiptera: Psyllidae) probing behaviour on two Solanum spp. and implications for possible pathogen spread

Isabel Valenzuela  1 , Piotr Trebicki  2 , Kevin S Powell  3 , Jessica Vereijssen  4 , Sorn Norng  5 , Alan L Yen  1   6
Affiliations

Acizzia solanicola (Hemiptera: Psyllidae) probing behaviour on two Solanum spp. and implications for possible pathogen spread

Isabel Valenzuela et al. PLoS One. .

Abstract

Piercing-sucking insects are vectors of plant pathogens, and an understanding of their feeding behaviour is crucial for studies on insect population dynamics and pathogen spread. This study examines probing behaviour of the eggplant psyllid, Acizzia solanicola (Hemiptera: Psyllidae), using the electrical penetration graph (EPG) technique, on two widespread and common hosts: eggplant (Solanum melongena) and tobacco bush (S. mauritianum). Six EPG waveforms were observed: waveform NP (non-probing phase), waveform C (pathway phase), G (feeding activities in xylem tissues), D (first contact with phloem tissues), E1 (salivation in the sieve elements) and E2 (ingestion from phloem tissues). Results showed that A. solanicola is predominantly a phloem feeder and time spent in salivation and ingestion phases (E1 and E2) differed between hosts. Feeding was enhanced on eggplant compared to tobacco bush which showed some degree of resistance, as evidenced by shorter periods of phloem ingestion, a higher propensity to return to the pathway phase once in the sieve elements and higher number of salivation events on tobacco bush. We discuss how prolonged phloem feeding could indicate the potential for A. solanicola to become an important pest of eggplant and potential pathogen vector.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Figures

Fig 1
Fig 1. Waveforms produced by Acizzia solanicola on eggplant.
(A) overview of 1 h recording period showing non-penetration (NP) and waveforms C and G. (B) overview of 1 h recording period showing waveforms D, E1 and E2. (C) traces of waveform C in 15 s overview. (D) traces of waveform G in 5 s overview. (E) traces of waveform D in 30 s overview. (F) traces of waveform E1 in 5 s overview. (G) traces of waveform E2 in 5 s overview. Refer to Table 1 for explanation of putative stylet tip position in plant tissue for each waveform.
Fig 2
Fig 2. A kinetogram of Acizzia solanicola probing behaviour on eggplant and tobacco bush.
Waveform types are enclosed in star symbol while values near the arrows are the probabilities of one waveform occurring after another (n = 23 and n = 20 on eggplants and tobacco bush respectively).
Fig 3
Fig 3. Boxplots representing percentage probing spend in each waveform of A. solanicola (n = 23 and n = 20 on eggplants and tobacco bush respectively).
Fig 4
Fig 4. Boxplots representing number of waveforms of A. solanicola (n = 23 and n = 20 on eggplants and tobacco bush respectively).
Fig 5
Fig 5. Boxplots representing duration of waveforms of A. solanicola (n = 23 and n = 20 on eggplants and tobacco bush respectively).
Fig 6
Fig 6. Boxplots representing sequential waveforms of A. solanicola (n = 23 and n = 20 on eggplants and tobacco bush respectively).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Purcell A. Insect vector relationships with prokaryotic plant-pathogens. Annual Review of Phytopathology. 1982; 20: 397–417.
    1. Munyaneza JE. Psyllids as vectors of emerging bacterial diseases of annual crops. Southwestern Entomologist. 2010: 35(3): 471–477.
    1. Haapalainen M. Biology and epidemics of Candidatus Liberibacter species, psyllid-transmitted plant-pathogenic bacteria. Annals of Applied Biology. 2014; 165: 172–198.
    1. Moran VC. The development of the citrus psylla, Trioza erytreae (Del Guercio) (Homoptera: Psyllidae), on Citrus limon and four indigenous host plants. Journal of the Entomological Society of Southern Africa. 1968; 31: 391–402.
    1. Kent DS, Taylor GS. Two new species of Acizzia Crawford (Hemiptera: Psyllidae) from the Solanaceae with a potential new economic pest of eggplant, Solanum melongena. Australian Journal of Entomology. 2010; 49: 73–81.

LinkOut - more resources