Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 23, 2026
03:39
A Precise and Quantifiable Method for Collecting Hemolymph from Small Arthropods
Published on: April 28, 2023
Hitching a ride: Vector feeding and virus transmission.
Communicative & Integrative Biology
|April 7, 2012
Summary
Plant viruses depend on insect vectors for spread. This review details how the feeding behaviors of aphids, whiteflies, and other piercing-sucking insects influence virus transmission and how viruses can manipulate vector behavior.
Area of Science:
- Plant Pathology
- Entomology
- Virology
Background:
- Plant viruses predominantly rely on insect vectors for transmission.
- Insects with piercing-sucking mouthparts are highly effective vectors, delivering viruses into specific plant tissues.
- Vector feeding behaviors are critical for virus acquisition and inoculation and vary significantly among insect species.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review the feeding behaviors of major insect vectors (aphids, whiteflies, mealybugs, hoppers, thrips).
- To examine the mechanisms of plant virus transmission by these vectors.
- To explore how vector feeding behaviors dictate virus transmission capabilities and how viruses manipulate vector behavior.
Main Methods:
- Literature review of scientific publications on insect vectors and plant virus transmission.
- Analysis of feeding behaviors of key insect vector groups.
- Synthesis of current knowledge on virus-vector interactions and behavioral manipulation.
Main Results:
- Different insect vectors exhibit distinct feeding behaviors crucial for virus transmission.
- Specific feeding mechanisms are linked to particular virus transmission modes.
- Plant viruses can actively modify insect vector behavior to enhance their own transmission.
Conclusions:
- Insect vector feeding behavior is a key determinant of plant virus transmission specificity and efficiency.
- Understanding these behaviors is vital for developing effective disease management strategies.
- The manipulation of vector behavior by plant viruses represents a significant area for future research.
Related Concept Videos
01:10Intracellular Movement of Viruses and Bacteria
Intracellular bacteria and viruses often comprise a group of highly infectious pathogens that can cause several diseases. Bacterial pathogens include those belonging to the genus Rickettsia responsible for conditions such as rocky mountain spotted fever and the Mediterranean spotted fever; Chlamydia, a genus responsible for a sexually transmitted disease; Coxiella burnetii, an agent responsible for Q fever. Viral pathogens include vaccinia—a poxvirus, and herpes simplex virus—a virus that...
00:57Viral Recombination
Cells are sometimes infected by more than one virus at once. When two viruses disassemble to expose their genomes for replication in the same cell, similar regions of their genomes can pair together and exchange sequences in a process called recombination. Alternatively, viruses with segmented genomes can swap segments in a process called reassortment.
01:16Transduction
Among the three main modes of HGT—transformation, conjugation, and transduction—transduction is unique in that it is mediated by bacteriophages, or bacterial viruses.Transduction occurs in two ways. Generalized transduction occurs during the lytic cycle of a bacteriophage infection. In this process, bacteriophages infect bacterial cells, replicate within them, and ultimately cause cell lysis, releasing newly assembled virions. Occasionally, random fragments of the bacterial genome are...
01:20Infection
When a pathogen enters the body and reproduces, it can cause an infection, damage body cells, and cause illness symptoms that eventually lead to disease. Therefore, its prevention requires breaking the chain of infection.
The chain begins with pathogens: bacteria, viruses, fungi, prions, or parasites such as protozoa helminths. These can be present on the skin as transient or resident flora, or they can be acquired from the environment. Identifying and treating the type of infection and...
The chain begins with pathogens: bacteria, viruses, fungi, prions, or parasites such as protozoa helminths. These can be present on the skin as transient or resident flora, or they can be acquired from the environment. Identifying and treating the type of infection and...
01:30Lytic Cycle of Bacteriophages
Bacteriophages, also known as phages, are specialized viruses that infect bacteria. A key characteristic of phages is their distinctive “head-tail” morphology. A phage begins the infection process (i.e., lytic cycle) by attaching to the outside of a bacterial cell. Attachment is accomplished via proteins in the phage tail that bind to specific receptor proteins on the outer surface of the bacterium. The tail injects the phage’s DNA genome into the bacterial cytoplasm. In the lytic replication...
01:20Receptor-mediated Endocytosis
Receptor-mediated endocytosis is when bulk amounts of specific molecules are imported into a cell after binding to cell surface receptors. The molecules bound to these receptors are taken into the cell through inward folding of the cell surface membrane, which is eventually pinched off into a vesicle within the cell. Structural proteins, such as clathrin, coat the budding vesicle.
Clathrin-Mediated Endocytosis of LDL
One well-characterized example of receptor-mediated endocytosis is the...
Clathrin-Mediated Endocytosis of LDL
One well-characterized example of receptor-mediated endocytosis is the...