Cloning and RNA interference analysis of the salivary protein C002 gene in Schizaphis graminum

The full-length c DNA of functionally-unknown salivary protein C002 in Schizaphis graminum was cloned using rapid amplification of c DNA ends（RACE） and designated as Sg C002（Gen Bank accession no. KC977563）. It is 767 bp long and encodes a protein of 190 amino acid residues with a predicted mass of 21.5 k Da and a predicted cleavage site of N-terminal signal peptide between the 24 th and the 25 th residues. Sg C002 is specifically expressed in salivary gland with the highest level at the 2nd instar. Introducing Sg C002-specific 476-si RNA, but not 546-si RNA to aphids through artificial diet significantly suppressed Sg C002 expression. Silencing Sg C002 gene led to lethality of the aphid on wheat plants, but not on pure artificial diet. Our study demonstrated that artificial diet-mediated RNAi can be a useful tool for research on the roles of genes in aphid salivary gland, and also provided new insights into the characteristics of C002 in wheat aphids.

Selection and evaluation of potential reference genes for gene expression analysis in greenbug(Schizaphis graminum Rondani)

In order to precisely assess gene expression level, a suitable internal reference gene must be chosen to quantify real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction （RT-qPCR） data. For greenbug, Schizaphis graminum, a suitable reference gene for assessing the level of transcriptional expression of target genes has yet to be explored. In our study, eight reference genes, elongation fator 1 beta （Ef1β）, TATA box binding protein （TBP）, alpha-tubulin （a-TUB）, 18S ribosomal （18S）, 28S ribosomal （28S）, glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate （GAPDH）, actin （ACT）, and ribosomal protein L18 （RPL18） were evaluated in S. graminum at different developmental stages, tissues, and insecticide treatments. To further explore whether these genes are suitable to serve as internal control, three software-based approaches （geNorm, BestKeeper, and NormFinder）, ACt method, and one web-based comprehensive tool （RefFinder） were employed to analyze and rank the tested genes. The optimal number of reference genes was determined using the geNorm program, and the suitability of particular reference genes was empirically validated according to normalized gene expression data of three target genes, heat shock protein gene （HSP70）, cytocrome P450 gene （SgraCYP18A1）, and glutathione S-transferase （GST）. We found that the most suitable reference genes varied considerably under different experimental conditions. For developmental stages, a-TUB and 28S were the optimal reference genes; for different tissues, 18S and ACTwere suitable reference genes; for insecticide treatments, 28S and a-TUB were suitable for normalizations of expression data. In addition, 28S and a-TUB were the suitable reference gene as they had the most stable expression among different developmental stages, tissues and insecticide treatments. This should be useful for the selection of the suitable reference genes to obtain reliable RT- qPCR data in the gene expression of S. graminum.

Homopteran Vector Biomarkers for Efficient Circulative Plant Virus Transmission are Conserved in Multiple Aphid Species and the Whitefly Bemisia tabaci

Plant viruses in the families Luteoviridae and Geminiviridae are phloem restricted and are transmitted in a persistent,circulative manner by homopteran insects.Using fluorescence 2-D difference gel electrophoresis to compare the proteomes of F2 genotypes of Schizaphis graminum segregating for virus transmission ability,we recently discovered a panel of protein biomarkers that predict vector competency.Here we used aphid and whitefly nucleotide and expressed sequence tag database mining to test whether these biomarkers are conserved in other homopteran insects.S.graminum gene homologs that shared a high degree of predicted amino acid identity were discovered in two other aphid species and in the whitefly Bemisia tabaci.Selected reaction monitoring mass spectrometry was used to validate the expression of these biomarkers proteins in multiple aphid vector species.The conservation of these proteins in multiple insect taxa that transmit plant viruses along the circulative transmission pathway creates the opportunity to use these biomarkers to rapidly identify insect populations that are the most efficient vectors and allow them to be targeted for control prior to the spread of virus within a crop.

Relative toxicity of three wheat herbicides to two species of Coccinellidae

On the High Plains of the USA, herbicides specific for broad-leaf weeds are regularly applied to winter wheat in the early spring, sometimes late enough to coincide with the colonization of fields by cereal aphids and their natural enemies. We tested the toxicity of three such herbicides, Ally （Dupont）, Rave （Syngenta） and 2,4-D ester （generic）, to neonate larvae of two coccinellid species important in cereal aphid biocontrol, Coleomegilla maculata DeGeer and Hippodamia convergens Gurrin-Mrneville. Topical treatment of larvae with 2,4-D resulted in 25% and 60% mortality in the two species, respectively, with surviving C. maculata larvae experiencing a 5% increase in developmental time. No significant effects were noted for the other two materials, save for a 2.5% increase in developmental time for C. maculata larvae exposed to Rave. No material caused significant mortality in either species when larvae were fed on prey （Schizaphis graminum Rondani） treated with herbicide 24 h earlier, although 2,4-D reduced developmental time slightly in C. maculata. When herbicide applications are delayed enough in spring to coincide with aphid activity in wheat, farmers can reduce the risk of disrupting biological control by selecting an alternative to 2,4-D.