Physiological and Biochemical Responses of Resistant and Susceptible Wheat to Injury by Russian Wheat Aphid

Abstract

We examined the physiological and biochemical responses of resistant ('Halt' and 'Prairie Red') and susceptible ('TAM 107') wheat, Triticum aestivum L., to injury by the Russian wheat aphid, Diuraphis noxia (Mordvilko). Photosynthetic capacity was evaluated by measuring assimilation/internal CO2 (A/Ci) curves, chlorophyll fluorescence, chlorophyll, and nonstructural carbohydrate content. Total protein and peroxidase specific activity also were determined. No significant differences were detected in chlorophyll concentration between aphid-infested and control TAM 107 plants. The aphid-infested resistant cultivars had similar or significantly higher chlorophyll concentrations compared with their respective control plants. Measurements over time showed that infested Halt plants had delays in photosynthetic senescence, Prairie Red plants had photosynthetic rate changes that were similar to control plants, and TAM 107 plants displayed accelerated photosynthetic senescence patterns. The photochemical and nonphotochemical quenching coefficients were significantly higher in infested Halt plants compared with their respective control plants on day 3. Infested TAM 107 plants had significantly higher photochemical quenching compared with control plants at all times evaluated, and they had significantly higher nonphotochemical quenching on day 3. Throughout the experiment, infested Prairie Red plants exhibited photochemical and nonphotochemical quenching coefficient values that were not significantly different from control plants. Total protein content was not significantly different between aphid-infested and control plants for all cultivars. Differences between physiological responses of infested susceptible and resistant cultivars, particularly temporal changes in photosynthetic activity, imply that resistant Halt and Prairie Red wheat tolerate some impacts of aphid injury on photosynthetic integrity.

Physiological responses of resistant and susceptible reproductive stage soybean to soybean aphid (Aphis glycines Matsumura) feeding

“…A number of studies have investigated the role of peroxidases in the defense response of plants to insect feeding, particularly aphid feeding. Feeding by D. noxia resulted in increased peroxidase activity in resistant wheat ('Halt' and 'Prairie Red'), but not in the susceptible cultivar ('TAM 107'), although the timing of the up-regulation of the peroxidase activity differed between the two resistant genotypes (Franzen et al 2007). Ni et al (2001) showed that infestation by D. noxia led to a greater upregulation of peroxidase activity in resistant wheat (Halt) and susceptible barley ('Morex') than in susceptible wheat ('Arapahoe') and resistant oat ('Border') when compared to their respective controls and to the same cereals infested with R. padi.…”

“…The tolerant cultivar was able to completely recover its photosynthetic capacity 7 days after aphids were removed, demonstrating that changes in photosynthetic rates may contribute to the tolerance response to D. noxia feeding (Haile et al 1999). Franzen et al (2007) evaluated the impact of D. noxia feeding on the physiological responses of D. noxia antibiotic, tolerant, and susceptible wheat. The tolerant cultivar had photosynthetic rates similar to those of the control, while the antibiotic cultivar showed delays in photosynthetic senescence and the susceptible cultivar exhibited accelerated photosynthetic senescence.…”

“…The tolerant cultivar had photosynthetic rates similar to those of the control, while the antibiotic cultivar showed delays in photosynthetic senescence and the susceptible cultivar exhibited accelerated photosynthetic senescence. The reductions in photosynthetic capacity in the susceptible cultivar were likely caused by declines in carboxylation efficiency and RuBP regeneration (Franzen et al 2007). …”

Physiological Basis of Fall Armyworm (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) Resistance in Seedlings of Maize Inbred Lines with Varying Levels of Silk Maysin

“…Several recent reports have examined the biochemical and physiological bases for insect resistance in both piercing-sucking and chewing insect pests on various crop plants. Oxidation and detoxification enzymes have been examined as biochemical bases for Russian wheat aphid, Diuraphis noxia (Mordvilko), resistance in wheat, barley and oat (Ni et al 2001a;, and chinch bug resistance in turf grasses (Franzen et al 2007). Impact of both piercing-sucking and chewing insect herbivory on photosynthetic rate and photosynthesis capacity was examined to establish baseline information on the physiological basis of crop plants resistance to insect pests (Haile et al 1999;Macedo et al 2003;Peterson et al 2004;Franzen et al 2007;Macedo et al 2007).…”

“…Oxidation and detoxification enzymes have been examined as biochemical bases for Russian wheat aphid, Diuraphis noxia (Mordvilko), resistance in wheat, barley and oat (Ni et al 2001a;, and chinch bug resistance in turf grasses (Franzen et al 2007). Impact of both piercing-sucking and chewing insect herbivory on photosynthetic rate and photosynthesis capacity was examined to establish baseline information on the physiological basis of crop plants resistance to insect pests (Haile et al 1999;Macedo et al 2003;Peterson et al 2004;Franzen et al 2007;Macedo et al 2007). In addition, D. noxia -elicited changes in photosynthetic pigments were also assessed to unravel the underlying mechanisms of aphidelicited leaf chlorosis and photosynthetic pigment losses (Ni et al 2001b;Ni et al 2002;HengMoss et al 2003).…”