Patch Experience Changes Host Acceptance of the Aphid Parasitoid Aphidius ervi

Below ground and above ground plant–insect–microorganism interactions are complex and regulate most of the developmental responses of important crop plants such as tomato. We investigated the influence of root colonization by a nonmycorrhizal plant-growth-promoting fungus on direct and indirect defenses of tomato plant against aphids. The multitrophic system included the plant Solanum lycopersicum (‘San Marzano nano’), the root-associated biocontrol fungus Trichoderma longibrachiatum strain MK1, the aphid Macrosiphum euphorbiae (a tomato pest), the aphid parasitoid Aphidius ervi, and the aphid predator Macrolophus pygmaeus. Laboratory bioassays were performed to assess the effect of T. longibrachiatum MK1, interacting with the tomato plant, on quantity and quality of volatile organic compounds (VOC) released by tomato plant, aphid development and reproduction, parasitoid behavior, and predator behavior and development. When compared with the uncolonized controls, plants whose roots were colonized by T. longibrachiatum MK1 showed quantitative differences in the release of specific VOC, better aphid population growth indices, a higher attractiveness toward the aphid parasitoid and the aphid predator, and a quicker development of aphid predator. These findings support the development of novel strategies of integrated control of aphid pests. The species-specific or strain-specific characteristics of these below ground–above ground interactions remain to be assessed.

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CONSPECIFIC SUPERPARASITISM IN TWO PARASITOID WASPS, APHIDIUS ERVI HALIDAY AND APHELINUS ASYCHIS WALKER: REPRODUCTIVE STRATEGIES INFLUENCE HOST DISCRIMINATION

The Canadian Entomologist ◽

10.4039/ent1231229-6 ◽

1991 ◽

Vol 123 (6) ◽

pp. 1229-1237 ◽

Cited By ~ 20

Author(s):

B. Bai

Keyword(s):

Reproductive Strategies ◽

Acyrthosiphon Pisum ◽

Aphidius Ervi ◽

Parasitoid Wasps ◽

Host Discrimination ◽

Larval Competition ◽

Parasitoid Species ◽

Aphid Parasitoid ◽

Aphelinus Asychis ◽

Physiological Suppression

AbstractConspecific host discrimination and larval competition in two aphid parasitoid species were studied in the laboratory using the pea aphid, Acyrthosiphon pisum (Harris) (Homoptera: Aphididae), as a host. Aphidius ervi Haliday (Hymenoptera: Aphidiidae) used internal host cues to discriminate between unparasitized and conspecific parasitized hosts. When only parasitized hosts were available, females oviposited into recently parasitized ones where their progeny had a good chance to survive, but rejected those parasitized ≥24 h earlier where their offspring normally died. Competitions occurred only after both eggs had hatched. Larvae eliminated supernumeraries by means of physical combat and physiological suppression. In Aphelinus asychis Walker (Hymenoptera: Aphelinidae), factors, or changes in host internal condition, associated with hatching of the first egg resulted in suppression of conspecific competitors which could be in either larval or egg stage. The older larvae always won competitions through physiological means. A wasp’s oviposition decision is shown to be influenced by the probability of its progeny’s survival. Species that have different reproductive strategies may respond differently to identical host conditions.

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Flying with a ‘death sentence’ on board: electrophoretic detection of braconid parasitoid larvae in migrating winged grain aphids, Sitobion avenae (F.)

Bulletin of Entomological Research ◽

10.1017/s000748531000074x ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 101 (4) ◽

pp. 443-449 ◽

Cited By ~ 7

Author(s):

M.P. Walton ◽

H.D. Loxdale ◽

L.J. Allen-Williams

Keyword(s):

Fungal Infection ◽

Fungal Pathogens ◽

Polyacrylamide Gel Electrophoresis ◽

Sitobion Avenae ◽

Aphidius Ervi ◽

Death Sentence ◽

Cereal Aphid ◽

Aphid Parasitoid ◽

Aphidius Rhopalosiphi ◽

Population Structure And Dynamics

AbstractPolyacrylamide gel electrophoresis of enzymes (carboxylesterases) was used for the first time to monitor rates of parasitism in airborne alate (winged) grain aphid, Sitobion avenae (F.) population samples collected by suction trapping in Hertfordshire, UK. Using previously described electrophoretic ‘keys’, the species of hymenopterous parasitoids present in individual aphids were identified and found to be Aphidius ervi (Haliday) and/or Aphidius rhopalosiphi (De Stephani Perez) (Braconidae). Entomophthoralean fungal infection was also detected using this approach. Aphidiid wasp parasitism was detected from early June to mid-August and fungal infection from late June to late July. The results are discussed in relation to parasitoid population structure and dynamics, especially (i) the fact that winged aphids passively transport the early stages of their braconid parasitoids and fungal pathogens, potentially to newly-founded colonies, which may directly impact on the dual aphid-parasitoid populations genetics; and (ii) the approach used to collect and assay parasitised and fungal infected aphids involving both suction trapping and electrophoretic testing may have potential in assessing the level and efficacy of these biological control agents in integrated pest management (IPM) schemes to combat cereal aphid outbreaks.

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Time-related rejection of parasitised hosts in the aphid parasitoid, Aphidius ervi

Entomologia Experimentalis et Applicata ◽

10.1111/j.1570-7458.1992.tb00655.x ◽

1992 ◽

Vol 62 (2) ◽

pp. 155-161 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

S. G. Micha ◽

P. W. Wellings ◽

R. Morton

Keyword(s):

Aphidius Ervi ◽

Aphid Parasitoid

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Expression differences in Aphidius ervi (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) females reared on different aphid host species

PeerJ ◽

10.7717/peerj.3640 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 5 ◽

pp. e3640 ◽

Cited By ~ 6

Author(s):

Gabriel I. Ballesteros ◽

Jürgen Gadau ◽

Fabrice Legeai ◽

Angelica Gonzalez-Gonzalez ◽

Blas Lavandero ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Host Plant ◽

Differentially Expressed Genes ◽

Host Species ◽

Host Plants ◽

Molecular Mechanisms ◽

Aphid Species ◽

Differentially Expressed ◽

Aphidius Ervi ◽

Host Acceptance ◽

Aphid Host

The molecular mechanisms that allow generalist parasitoids to exploit many, often very distinct hosts are practically unknown. The wasp Aphidius ervi, a generalist koinobiont parasitoid of aphids, was introduced from Europe into Chile in the late 1970s to control agriculturally important aphid species. A recent study showed significant differences in host preference and host acceptance (infectivity) depending on the host A. ervi were reared on. In contrast, no genetic differentiation between A. ervi populations parasitizing different aphid species and aphids of the same species reared on different host plants was found in Chile. Additionally, the same study did not find any fitness effects in A. ervi if offspring were reared on a different host as their mothers. Here, we determined the effect of aphid host species (Sitobion avenae versus Acyrthosiphon pisum reared on two different host plants alfalfa and pea) on the transcriptome of adult A. ervi females. We found a large number of differentially expressed genes (between host species: head: 2,765; body: 1,216; within the same aphid host species reared on different host plants: alfalfa versus pea: head 593; body 222). As expected, the transcriptomes from parasitoids reared on the same host species (pea aphid) but originating from different host plants (pea versus alfalfa) were more similar to each other than the transcriptomes of parasitoids reared on a different aphid host and host plant (head: 648 and 1,524 transcripts; body: 566 and 428 transcripts). We found several differentially expressed odorant binding proteins and olfactory receptor proteins in particular, when we compared parasitoids from different host species. Additionally, we found differentially expressed genes involved in neuronal growth and development as well as signaling pathways. These results point towards a significant rewiring of the transcriptome of A. ervi depending on aphid-plant complex where parasitoids develop, even if different biotypes of a certain aphid host species (A. pisum) are reared on the same host plant. This difference seems to persist even after the different wasp populations were reared on the same aphid host in the laboratory for more than 50 generations. This indicates that either the imprinting process is very persistent or there is enough genetic/allelic variation between A. ervi populations. The role of distinct molecular mechanisms is discussed in terms of the formation of host fidelity.

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Bottom-up effect of water stress on the aphid parasitoid Aphidius ervi

Entomologia Generalis ◽

10.1127/entomologia/2018/0575 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 38 (1) ◽

pp. 15-27 ◽

Cited By ~ 6

Author(s):

Le-Thu-Ha Nguyen ◽

Lucie S. Monticelli ◽

Nicolas Desneux ◽

Christiane Metay-Merrien ◽

Edwige Amiens-Desneux ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Water Stress ◽

Aphidius Ervi ◽

Aphid Parasitoid ◽

Bottom Up ◽

Effect Of Water

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Identification and Expression Profiling of Peripheral Olfactory Genes in the Parasitoid Wasp Aphidius ervi (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) Reared on Different Aphid Hosts

Insects ◽

10.3390/insects10110397 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 10 (11) ◽

pp. 397

Author(s):

Gabriel I. Ballesteros ◽

Daniela A. Sepúlveda ◽

Christian C. Figueroa

Keyword(s):

Binding Proteins ◽

Host Preference ◽

Odorant Receptors ◽

Aphidius Ervi ◽

Host Acceptance ◽

Odorant Binding Proteins ◽

Expression Levels ◽

Host Fidelity ◽

Chemosensory Genes ◽

Odorant Binding

Generalist parasitoids of aphids, such as the wasp Aphidius ervi, display significant differences in terms of host preference and host acceptance, depending on the host on which they developed (natal host), which is preferred over a non-natal host, a trait known as host fidelity. This trait allows females to quickly find hosts in heterogeneous environments, a process mediated by chemosensory/olfactory mechanisms, as parasitoids rely on olfaction and chemical cues during host selection. Thus, it is expected that proteins participating in chemosensory recognition, such as odorant-binding proteins (OBPs) and odorant receptors (ORs) would play a key role in host preference. In this study, we addressed the effect of parasitoid reciprocal host switching between two aphid hosts (Sitobion avenae and Acyrthosiphon pisum) on the expression patterns of chemosensory genes in the wasp A. ervi. First, by using a transcriptomic approach based on RNAseq of A. ervi females reared on S. avenae and A. pisum, we were able to annotate a total of 91 transcripts related to chemoperception. We also performed an in-silico expression analysis and found three OBPs and five ORs displaying different expression levels. Then, by using qRT-PCR amplification, we found significant differences in the expression levels of these eight genes when the parasitoids were reciprocally transplanted from S. avenae onto A. pisum and vice versa. This suggests that the expression levels of genes coding for odorant receptors and odorant-binding proteins would be regulated by the specific plant–aphid host complex where the parasitoids develop (maternal previous experience) and that chemosensory genes coding for olfactory mechanisms would play a crucial role on host preference and host acceptance, ultimately leading to the establishment of host fidelity in A. ervi parasitoids.

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