title: Performances of survival, feeding behavior, and gene expression in aphids reveal their different fitness to host alteration.
abstract: Insect populations feeding on different plant species are under selection pressure to adapt to these differences. A study integrating elements of the ecology, behavior, and gene expression of aphids on different host plants has not yet been well-explored. The present study explores the relationship between host fitness and survival, feeding behavior, and salivary gland gene expression of a pea (Pisum sativum) host race of Acyrthosiphon pisum feeding on a common host Vicia faba and on three genetically-related hosts (Vicia villosa, Medicago truncatula, and Medicago sativa). Life table data indicated that aphids on non-favored hosts exhibited small size, low reproduction rate, slow population increase and individual development, and long lifespan. Electrical penetration graph results showed that the aphids spent significantly less time in passive ingestion of phloem sap on all non-preferred host plants before acclimation. After a period of acclimation on M. truncatula and V. villosa, pea host race individuals showed improved feeding behavior. No individuals of the pea host race completed its life history on M. sativa. Interestingly, the number of host-specific differentially-expressed salivary gland genes was negatively correlated with the fitness of aphids on this host plant. This study provided important cues in host plant specialization in aphids.
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Integrated Management of Pest Insects &Rodents, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.|Plant Protection College, Shandong Agricultural University, Tai'an, Shandong, China.
authors.forename: Hong
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Lu
authors.affiliation: Beijing Institutes of Life Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Pengcheng
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.affiliation: Plant Protection College, Shandong Agricultural University, Tai'an, Shandong, China.
authors.forename: Yongyu
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Integrated Management of Pest Insects &Rodents, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Lan
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Luo
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Integrated Management of Pest Insects &Rodents, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Junjie
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zhu
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Integrated Management of Pest Insects &Rodents, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Na
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Cui
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Integrated Management of Pest Insects &Rodents, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Le
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Kang
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Integrated Management of Pest Insects &Rodents, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Feng
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Cui
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001042:Aphids / Q000235:genetics*; D005247:Feeding Behavior; D015870:Gene Expression; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation; D006790:Host-Parasite Interactions; D010809:Physical Fitness; D012469:Salivary Glands / Q000378:metabolism