Tritrophic interactions between parasitoids and cereal aphids are mediated by nitrogen fertilizer

Host plant nutritional quality can directly and indirectly affect the third trophic levels. The aphid-parasitoid relationship provides an ideal system to investigate tritrophic interactions （as the parasitoids are completely dependent for their development upon their hosts） and assess the bottom up forces operating at different concentrations of nitrogen applications. The effects of varying nitrogen fertilizer on the performance of Aphidius colemani （V.） reared on Sitobion avenae （E） and Aphidius rhopalosiphi （D.） reared on Rhopalosiphum padi （L.） were measured. Parasitism and percent emergence ofparasitoids were positively affected by nitrogen fertilizer treatments while developmental duration （egg, larval, and pupal stages） was not affected by increasing nitrogen inputs. In males and females of both parasitoid species, adult longevity increased with the increasing nitrogen fertilizer. Hind tibia length and mummy weight of both parasitoid species increased with nitrogen fertilizer concentrations, as a result of larger aphids. This study showed that nitrogen application to the soil can have important consequences for aboveground multitrophic interactions.

Jasmonate- and salicylate-induced defenses in wheat affect host preference and probing behavior but not performance of the grain aphid, Sitobion avenae

Jasmonate and salicylatemediated signaling pathways play significant roles in induced plant defenses, but there is no sufficient evidence for their roles in monocots against aphids. We exogenously applied methyl jasmonate （MeJA） and salicylic acid （SA） on wheat seedlings and examined biochemical responses in wheat and effects on the grain aphid, Sitobion avenae （Fab.）. Application of MeJA significantly increased levels of wheat＇s polyphenol oxidase, peroxidase and proteinase inhibitor 1, 2 and 6 days after treatment. In twochoice tests, adult aphids preferred control wheat leaves to MeJA or SA treated leaves. Electrical penetration graph （EPG） recordings of aphid probing behavior revealed that on MeJAtreated plants, the duration of aphid＇s first probe was significantly shorter and number of probes was significantly higher than those on control plants. Also total duration of probing on MeJAtreated plants was significantly shorter than on control plants. Total duration of salivation period on SAtreated plants was significantly longer, while mean phloem ingestion period was significantly shorter than on control plants. However, no significant difference in total duration of phloem sap ingestion period was observed among treatments. The EPG data suggest that MeJAdependent resistance factors might be due to feeding deterrents in mesophyll, whereas the SAmediated resistance may be phloembased. We did not observe any significant difference of MeJA and SA application on aphid development, daily fecundity, intrinsic growth rate and population growth. The results indicate that both MeJA and SAinduced defenses in wheat deterred S. avenae colonization processes and feeding behavior, but had no significant effects on its performance.

Diversity, frequency, and geographic distribution of facultative bacterial endosymbionts in introduced aphid pests

Facultative bacterial endosymbionts in insects have been under intense study during the last years. Endosymbionts can modify the insect＇s phenotype, conferring adap- tive advantages under environmental stress. This seems particularly relevant for a group of worldwide agricultural aphid pests, because endosymbionts modify key fitness-related traits, including host plant use, protection against natural enemies and heat tolerance. Aimed to understand the role of facultative endosymbionts on the success of introduced aphid pests, the distribution and abundance of 5 facultative endosymbionts （Hamiltonella defensa, Regiella insecticola, Serratia symbiotica, Rickettsia and Spiroplasma） were stud- ied and compared in 4 cereal aphids （Sitobion avenae, Diuraphis noxia, Metopolophium dirhodum and Schizaphis graminium） and in the pea aphid Acyrthosiphon pisum complex from 2 agroclimatic zones in Chile. Overall, infections with faeultative endosymbionts exhibited a highly variable and characteristic pattern depending on the aphid species/host race and geographic zone, which could explain the success of aphid pest populations after their introduction. While S. symbiotica and H. defensa were the most frequent endosym- bionts carried by the A. pisum pea-race and A. pisum alfalfa-race aphids, respectively, the most frequent facultative endosymbiont carried by all cereal aphids was R. insecticola. Interestingly, a highly variable composition of endosymbionts carried by S. avenae was also observed between agroclimatic zones, suggesting that endosymbionts are responding differentially to abiotic variables （temperature and precipitations）. In addition, our findings constitute the first report of bacterial endosymbionts in cereal aphid species not screened before, and also the first report of aphid endosymbionts in Chile.

The effect of landscape complexity and microclimate on the thermal tolerance of a pest insect

Landscape changes are known to exacerbate the impacts of climate change. As such, understanding the combined effect of climate and landscape on agroecosystems is vital if we are to maintain the fimction of agroecosystems. This study aimed to elucidate the effects of agricultural landscape complexity on the microclimate and thermal tolerance of an aphid pest to better understand how landscape and climate may interact to affect the thermal tolerance of pest species within the context of global climate change. Meteo- rological data were measured at the landscape level, and cereal aphids （Sitobion avenae, Metopolophium dirhodum and Rhopalosiphum padi） sampled, from contrasting landscapes （simple and complex） in winter 2013/2014 and spring 2014 in cereal fields of Brittany, France. Aphids were returned to the laboratory and the effect of landscape of origin on aphid cold tolerance （as determined by CTmin） was investigated. Results revealed that local landscape complexity significantly affected microclimate, with simple homogenous landscapes being on average warmer, but with greater temperature variation. Landscape complexity was shown to impact aphid cold tolerance, with aphids from complex land- scapes being more cold tolerant than those from simple landscapes in both winter and spring, but with differences among species. This study highlights that future changes to land use could have implications for the thermal tolerance and adaptability of insects. Fur- thermore, not all insect species respond in a similar way to microhabitat and microclimate, which could disrupt important predator-prey relationships and the ecosystem service they provide.

The price of protection:a defensive endosymbiont impairs nymph growth in the bird cherry-oat aphid,Rhopalosiphum padi

Bacterial endosymbionts have enabled aphids to adapt to a range of stressors,but their effects in many aphid species remain to be established.The bird cherry-oat aphid,Rhopalosiphum padi(Linnaeus),is an important pest of cereals worldwide and has been reported to form symbiotic associations with Serratia symbiotica and Sitobion miscanthi L-type symbiont endobacteria,although the resulting aphid phenotype has not been described.This study presents the first report of R.padi infection with the facultative bacterial endosymbiont Hamiltonella defensa.Individuals of R.padi were sampled from populations in Eastern Scotland,UK,and shown to represent seven R.padi genotypes based on the size of polymorphic microsatellite markers;two of these genotypes harbored H.defensa.In parasitism assays,survival of H.defensa-infected nymphs following attack by the parasitoid wasp Aphidius colemani(Viereck)was 5 fold higher than for uninfected nymphs.Aphid genotype was a major determinant of aphid performance on two Hordeum species,a modern cultivar of barley H.vulgare and a wild relative H.spontaneum,although aphids infected with H.defensa showed 16%lower nymph mass gain on the partially resistant wild relative compared with uninfected individuals.These findings suggest that deploying resistance traits in barley will favor the fittest R.padi genotypes,but symbiontinfected individuals will be favored when parasitoids are abundant,although these aphids will not achieve optimal performance on a poor quality host plant.