The effects of Gibberella zeae, Barley Yellow Dwarf Virus, and co-infection on Rhopalosiphum padi olfactory preference and performance

What is it about?

Insect-borne viruses promote several changes in plant phenotype, which can modify plant-vector interactions in favor of virus survival and dissemination. Although co-infections commonly occur in the field, little is known about their effects on interactions with the vector. The ecological interactions between Barley Yellow Dwarf Virus (BYDV) and its aphid vector, Rhopalosiphum padi, have been investigated extensively, but the vector’s behavior in more complex scenarios has yet to be examined. We assessed olfactory response and performance of R. padi to wheat singly and doubly infected by the pathogenic fungus Giberella zeae and BYDV. Non-viruliferous aphids preferred odors of BYDV-infected wheat over healthy wheat, as previously reported in the literature, and they were still preferentially attracted to BYDV-infected plant during co-infection. However, around 35% more non-viruliferous aphids chose healthy wheat over G. zeae-infected wheat. Viruliferous aphids did not show any preference to the treatments. BYDV-infected wheat was a superior host than healthy wheat for the aphids whose population increased in 25%. We observed a synergistic effect of the co-infected wheat, which was the best host for aphids, and promoted an elevation of 42% on population growth. Our results indicate that co-infection might be beneficial for virus spread as does not interfere with aphid olfactory preference and provides greater colony growth than in singly infected plants.

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