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Role of aphid salivary gland proteins in plant infestation

Reference	BBS/E/J/000CA362
Principal Investigator / Supervisor	Professor Saskia Hogenhout
Co-Investigators / Co-Supervisors
Institution	John Innes Centre
Department	John Innes Centre Department
Funding type	Research
Value (£)	105,259
Status	Completed
Type	Institute Project
Start date	01/11/2008
End date	31/10/2010
Duration	24 months

Abstract

Aphids, like whiteflies, leafhoppers and planthoppers, are hemipteran sap-feeding insects of plants. These insects induce extensive feeding damage, can build up to high population densities, and are the vector of important plant diseases worldwide, including Europe. Aphids have highly developed salivary glands consisting of several lobes that are predicted to produce proteins required for establishing successful interactions with host plants. A recent study showed that some aphid salivary gland proteins suppress plant defences thereby allowing the aphids to freely feed from the plants. Despite the importance of sap-feeding insects in agriculture, few researchers worldwide have focused on gaining a better understanding of the functions of the salivary gland proteins in insect feeding. The goal of this to identify and characterize salivary gland proteins of two aphid species, Myzus persicae (green peach aphid), and Acyrthosiphon pisum (pea aphid), and to elucidate how these proteins enhance aphid feeding and affect host range specificity. We will use a genomics/proteomics approach to identify secreted salivary proteins of M. persicae and A. pisum. Functional characterization will be done using several approaches: 1) Aphids will be micro-injected with siRNA to knock-down the expression of candidate genes. Aphids will then be introduced on (non)host plant species to assess aphid survival and fitness. 2) We will generate transgenic A. thaliana plants that express aphid genes under control constitutive promoter. Transgenic lines will be analyzed for phenotypic changes and assessed for effects of transgene over-expression on aphid survival and fitness. 3) We will use protein interaction assays to identify plant targets of aphid proteins. The project will be an important first step towards understanding how phloem-feeding aphids manipulate plant cell processes and will generate new insights into improvement of plant resistance to these insects.

Summary

unavailable

Committee	Closed Committee - Plant & Microbial Sciences (PMS)
Research Topics	Crop Science, Plant Science
Research Priority	X – Research Priority information not available
Research Initiative	X - not in an Initiative
Funding Scheme	X – not Funded via a specific Funding Scheme

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