Publications by authors named "P A Umina"
Background: The bird cherry-oat aphid, Rhopalosiphum padi, is a major pest of agriculture due to its ability to directly damage crops and transmit plant viruses. As industries move away from chemical pest control, there is interest in exploring new options to suppress the impact of this pest.
Results: We describe the production of a transinfected line of R.
Article Synopsis
- There is growing interest in using endosymbionts for pest control, particularly in aphids, which host various endosymbionts that can influence their traits.
- The authors conducted a literature review of 56 studies on transferring endosymbionts to identify factors affecting transfer success and performed their own microinjection experiments with important aphid species.
- Factors that may hinder the successful establishment of transferred endosymbionts include instability in donor species, negative impacts on host fitness, lack of plant transmission, genetic variation in endosymbionts, and environmental susceptibility, which should be considered for improving future transfer attempts.
As climate change continues to modify temperature and rainfall patterns, risks from pests and diseases may vary as shifting temperature and moisture conditions affect the life history, activity, and distribution of invertebrates and diseases. The potential consequences of changing climate on pest management strategies must be understood for control measures to adapt to new environmental conditions. The redlegged earth mite (RLEM; Halotydeus destructor [Tucker]) is a major economic pest that attacks pastures and grain crops across southern Australia and is typically controlled by pesticides.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFEvolution of Buchnera-aphid host symbioses is often studied among species at macroevolutionary scales. Investigations within species offer a different perspective about how eco-evolutionary processes shape patterns of genetic variation at microevolutionary scales. Our study leverages new and publicly available whole-genome sequencing data to study Buchnera-aphid host evolution in Myzus persicae, the peach potato aphid, a globally invasive and polyphagous pest.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAphids (Hemiptera: Aphidoidea) are economically important crop pests worldwide. Because of growing issues with insecticide resistance and environmental contamination by insecticides, alternate methods are being explored to provide aphid control. Aphids contain endosymbiotic bacteria that affect host fitness and could be targeted as potential biocontrol agents, but such novel strategies should not impact the effectiveness of traditional chemical control.
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