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ViewAttendees 11

Member Symposium

Pathogen-mediated Ecological Interactions: From Microbes to Complex Ecosystems

11: Interspecific interactions between vector-borne pathosystems sharing a host plant

On-Demand
On-Demand
Potato virus Y (PVY) and zebra chip (ZC) disease are major threats to solanaceous crop production in North America. PVY can be spread by aphid vectors and through vegetative propagation in potatoes. ZC is associated with “Candidatus Liberibacter solanacearum” (Lso), which is transmitted by the potato psyllid, Bactericera cockerelli Šulc (Hemiptera: Triozidae). These two pathosystems can co-occur in production systems. Here, we studied whether the presence of PVY affects the host preference, oviposition, and egg hatch rate of potato psyllids in tomato plants. We also examined whether PVY infection influences Lso inoculation by the psyllid, Lso titer and plant physiology. Lso-positive psyllids showed a preference toward PVY-negative hosts, whereas the PVY-negative psyllids preferred healthy tomatoes. Oviposition of the Lso-positive psyllids was lower on PVY-infected than healthy tomatoes, but Lso inoculation, titer, and psyllid egg hatch were not affected by PVY. The induction of salicylic acid and related defenses, and not nutritional losses, may explain the reduced attractiveness of the PVY-positive host to the Lso-positive psyllids. Although our study demonstrated that pre-existing PVY infection can reduce oviposition by the Lso-positive vector, the preference of the Lso-positive psyllids to alight on healthy hosts can potentially contribute to Lso spread in the presence of PVY infection in a field.