Project description:The green peach aphid/peach-potato aphid Myzus persicae can colonize hundreds of plant species, an ability that is in part due to the delivery of saliva proteins – often referred to as effectors – into the host plant that suppress plant defence. As a generalist herbivore with a remarkable ability to colonize new host plants M. persicae represents an outstanding model system for studying the molecular mechanisms underlying plant-insect interactions. Recent advancements in mass spectrometry instrumentation and database search software along with a new high-quality reference genome assembly for M. persicae and a simplified method for improved aphid saliva recovery, collectively enhance the detection of saliva proteins with unprecedented sensitivity and specificity.
Project description:Environmentally induced changes in the epigenome help individuals to quickly adapt to fluctuations in the conditions of their habitats. Here we explored those changes in Arabidopsis thaliana plants subjected to multiple biotic and abiotic stresses, and identified transposable element (TE) activation in plants infested with the green peach aphid, Myzus persicae. We performed a genome-wide analysis of DNA methylation, mRNA expression, mRNA degradation and small RNAs accumulation. Our results demonstrate that aphid feeding induces loss of methylation of hundreds of loci, mainly TEs with labile chromatin characteristics. This loss of methylation has the potential to regulate gene expression and we found evidence that it is involved in the control of key plant immunity genes. Accordingly, we find that mutant plants deficient in epigenetic silencing show increased resistance to M.persicae infestation. Collectively, our results show that changes in DNA methylation play a significant role in the regulation of the plant transcriptional response and induction of defence response against aphid feeding.
Project description:Myzus persicae (green peach aphid) feeding on Arabidopsis thaliana induces a defense response, quantified as reduced aphid progeny production, in infested leaves but not in other parts of the plant. Similarly, infiltration of aphid saliva into Arabidopsis leaves causes only a local increase in aphid resistance. Further characterization of the defense-eliciting salivary components indicates that Arabidopsis recognizes a proteinaceous elicitor with a size between 3 to 10 kD. Genetic analysis using well-characterized Arabidopsis mutant shows that saliva-induced resistance against M. persicae is independent of the known defense signaling pathways involving salicylic acid, jasmonate, and ethylene. Among 78 Arabidopsis genes that were induced by aphid saliva infiltration, 52 had been identified previously as aphid-induced, but few are responsive to the well-known plant defense signaling molecules salicylic acid and jasmonate. Quantitative PCR analysis confirms expression of saliva-induced genes. In particular, expression of a set of O-methyltransferases, which may be involved in the synthesis of aphid-repellent glucosinolates, was significantly up-regulated by both M. persicae feeding and treatment with aphid saliva. However, this did not correlate with increased production of 4-methoxyindol-3-ylmethylglucosinolate, suggesting that aphid salivary components trigger an Arabidopsis defense response that is independent of this aphid-deterrent glucosinolate.
Project description:The aim of this experiment was to compare the transciptome of the peach-potato aphid (Myzus persicae) clone 4106a (a laboratory insecticide-susceptible standard collected from potato in Scotland in 2000) with clone 5191A (an insecticide resistant aphid clone collected from tobacco in Greece in 2007) to identify which genes are over or underexpressed in the resistant phenotype.
Project description:Salicylic acid (SA) and jasmonic acid (JA) fulfill key signaling functions in plant responses to herbivores. However, the mechanisms that facilitate systemic signaling in response to phloem-feeding insects remain poorly defined. Rapid local and systemic transcriptome reprogramming patterns observed in Arabidopsis thaliana following infestation by the green peach aphid (Myzus persicae Sulzer) identify abscisic acid (ABA) and redox-signalling as key factors in the transmission of signals from local to systemic leaves. Moreover, aphid fecundity was increased in mutants that were defective in ABA-signaling through ABA-INSENSITIVE 4 and show constitutive up-regulation of SA- and JA-mediated defense pathways. Conversely, aphid fecundity was decreased and aphid vigor was impaired on vitamin C2 mutants that are defective in the major low molecular weight antioxidant of plant cells, ascorbic acid and show constitutive up-regulation of redox defense and SA-mediated pathways but reduced up-regulation of JA-mediated pathways. Crossing vtc2 with abi4 restored the wild type sensitivity to aphids. Hence aphid fecundity was attenuated by low ascorbate in a manner that was dependent on the functions of the ABI4 transcription factor. ABI4 is not only an important regulator of systemic defenses against aphids but it makes a significant contribution to the SA-mediated repression of JA signaling.
Project description:Salicylic acid (SA) and jasmonic acid (JA) fulfill key signaling functions in plant responses to herbivores. However, the mechanisms that facilitate systemic signaling in response to phloem-feeding insects remain poorly defined. Rapid local and systemic transcriptome reprogramming patterns observed in Arabidopsis thaliana following infestation by the green peach aphid (Myzus persicae Sulzer) identify abscisic acid (ABA) and redox-signalling as key factors in the transmission of signals from local to systemic leaves. Moreover, aphid fecundity was increased in mutants that were defective in ABA-signaling through ABA-INSENSITIVE 4 and show constitutive up-regulation of SA- and JA-mediated defense pathways. Conversely, aphid fecundity was decreased and aphid vigor was impaired on vitamin C2 mutants that are defective in the major low molecular weight antioxidant of plant cells, ascorbic acid and show constitutive up-regulation of redox defense and SA-mediated pathways but reduced up-regulation of JA-mediated pathways. Crossing vtc2 with abi4 restored the wild type sensitivity to aphids. Hence aphid fecundity was attenuated by low ascorbate in a manner that was dependent on the functions of the ABI4 transcription factor. ABI4 is not only an important regulator of systemic defenses against aphids but it makes a significant contribution to the SA-mediated repression of JA signaling.
Project description:The metabolic response of peach tree (Prunus persica) to green aphid (Myzus persicae) has been investigated by GC-MS profiling of the apex polar extracts. Six plants of two cultivars, GF305 (sensitive to M. persicae) and Rubira (resistant), were obtained from the germination of seeds after a 3 months stratification at 4C and grown for eight weeks in a green house before transfer in a growth chamber where the experiment took place. Three plants of each genotype were infested with 10 synchronized green aphid female adults (clones MP06). Aphids were removed after 48 hours and the plant apex (about 100 mg) were collected in liquid nitrogen and thoroughly ground with a ball mill.
Project description:Myzus persicae (green peach aphid) feeding on Arabidopsis thaliana induces a defense response, quantified as reduced aphid progeny production, in infested leaves but not in other parts of the plant. Similarly, infiltration of aphid saliva into Arabidopsis leaves causes only a local increase in aphid resistance. Further characterization of the defense-eliciting salivary components indicates that Arabidopsis recognizes a proteinaceous elicitor with a size between 3 to 10 kD. Genetic analysis using well-characterized Arabidopsis mutant shows that saliva-induced resistance against M. persicae is independent of the known defense signaling pathways involving salicylic acid, jasmonate, and ethylene. Among 78 Arabidopsis genes that were induced by aphid saliva infiltration, 52 had been identified previously as aphid-induced, but few are responsive to the well-known plant defense signaling molecules salicylic acid and jasmonate. Quantitative PCR analysis confirms expression of saliva-induced genes. In particular, expression of a set of O-methyltransferases, which may be involved in the synthesis of aphid-repellent glucosinolates, was significantly up-regulated by both M. persicae feeding and treatment with aphid saliva. However, this did not correlate with increased production of 4-methoxyindol-3-ylmethylglucosinolate, suggesting that aphid salivary components trigger an Arabidopsis defense response that is independent of this aphid-deterrent glucosinolate. Experiment Overall Design: 3 biological replicates (control and treatment). Total number of samples: 6.
Project description:The aim of this experiment was to compare the transciptome of the peach-potato aphid (Myzus persicae) clone 4106a (a laboratory insecticide-susceptible standard collected from potato in Scotland in 2000) with clone 5191A (an insecticide resistant aphid clone collected from tobacco in Greece in 2007) to identify which genes are over or underexpressed in the resistant phenotype. Two-condition experiment, 4106a vs. 5191a Myzus persicae clones. Biological replicates: 4 pools of RNA extracted from ten 15 day old aphids of each clone. Technical Replicates: Two technical reps incorporating a dye swap. Total replication: eight replicates for each clone.
Project description:The aim of this experiment was to compare the transciptome of the peach-potato aphid (Myzus persicae) clone 4106a (a laboratory insecticide-susceptible standard collected from potato in Scotland in 2000) with clone FRC (an insecticide resistant aphid clone collected from peach in France in 2009) to identify which genes are over or underexpressed in the resistant phenotype. The custom microarray used in this study was designed using the Agilent eArray platform (Agilent Technologies) by the Georg Jander Lab and is based on a previously described array containing probes for >10, 000 M. persicae unigenes produced by Sanger sequencing (Ramsey, Wilson et al. 2007) augmented with an additional 30, 517 probe set designed on EST unigene sequences identified in a 454 sequencing project (Ramsey, Rider et al. 2010). The final slide layout consists of four arrays of 45, 220 60-mer probes and these are produced by Agilent by in situ oligonucleotide synthesis. References: Ramsey, J. S., D. S. Rider, et al. (2010). "Comparative analysis of detoxification enzymes in Acyrthosiphon pisum and Myzus persicae." Insect Molecular Biology 19: 155-164. Ramsey, J. S., A. C. C. Wilson, et al. (2007). "Genomic resources for Myzus persicae: EST sequencing, SNP identification, and microarray design." BMC Genomics 8.