The wheat curl mite (WCM) is a vector of three important wheat viruses in the U.S. Great Plains: wheat streak mosaic virus (WSMV), triticum mosaic virus (TriMV), and High Plains wheat mosaic virus (HPWMoV).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFDiurnal variation in phloem sap composition has a strong influence on aphid performance. The sugar-rich phloem sap serves as the sole diet for aphids and a suite of physiological mechanisms and behaviors allow them to tolerate the high osmotic stress. Here, we tested the hypothesis that night-time feeding by aphids is a behavior that takes advantage of the low sugar diet in the night to compensate for osmotic stress incurred while feeding on high sugar diet during the day.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Perception and activation of plant immunity require a remarkable level of signalling plasticity and control. In Arabidopsis and other plant species, constitutive defence activation leads to resistance to a broad spectrum of biotrophic pathogens, but also frequently to stunted growth and reduced seed set. Plant hormones are important integrators of the physiological responses that influence the outcome of plant-pathogen interactions.
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