Species Composition of Alate Aphids (Hemiptera: Aphididae) Harboring Potato Virus Y and the Harbored Virus Strains in Hokkaido, Northern Japan.

Many studies have evaluated transmission abilities of laboratory-reared aphids for potato virus Y (PVY), but few have focused on PVY-harboring species of field-collected aphids and the strains of PVY harbored by aphids. In the present study, we collected alate aphids in yellow pan traps in potato fields with Japanese commercial cultivars in Hokkaido, northern Japan in single 24-h periods during the tuber bulking stage and examined whether individual whole aphids harbored PVY by nested RT-PCR. PVY-positive individuals were identified to species using the gene sequence for cytochrome c oxidase subunit I and, when needed, morphological data and distribution records.