VIEW ARTICLE

Vector Relations

Effect of Fixation and Helper Component on the Detection of Potato Virus Y in Alimentary Tract Extracts of Myzus persicae. D. Lopez- Abella, Department of Plant Pathology, University of Kentucky, Lexington 40546, Present address of senior author: Instituto ‘JAIME FERRAN’ Microbiologica, C.S.I.C., Joaquin Costa 32, Madrid, Spain; T. P. Pirone(2), R. E. Mernaugh(3), and M. C. Johnson(4). (2)(3)(4)Department of Plant Pathology, University of Kentucky, Lexington 40546. Phytopathology 71:807-809. Accepted for publication 31 December 1980. Copyright 1981 The American Phytopathological Society. DOI: 10.1094/Phyto-71-807.

Aphids were given acquisition access to solutions containing equal numbers of potato virus Y (PVY) and tobacco mosaic virus (TMV) particles for 2–4 hr. The contents of the anterior alimentary tract and midgut were then examined by electron microscopy for presence of virus. The numbers of PVY particles detected were expressed as a percentage of TMV particles, which were used as a marker. When aphids imbibed untreated or control preparations, the amount of PVY present was about 2% the amount of TMV. When the virus preparation was fixed with formaldehyde or when the helper component (HC) required for transmission of purified PVY by aphids was added to the preparation prior to acquisition, PVY was about 25% of TMV. The data suggest that while HC might act by regulating adsorption of PVY by aphid mouthparts as previously suggested, HC also might have other possibly protective functions.