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Updated: May 4, 2026

Testing the Physiological Barriers to Viral Transmission in Aphids Using Microinjection
Published on: May 14, 2008
Aphid alarm pheromone derivatives affecting settling and transmission of plant viruses
G W Dawson1, R W Gibson, D C Griffiths
1Rothamsted Experimental Station, AL5 2JQ, Harpenden, UK.
Abstract:
1,4-Cycloaddition reactions between (E)-β-farnesene (the aphid alarm pheromone) and dienophiles, such as SO2 and RO·CO·C ≡ CCO·OR, gave products more stable and less volatile than the parent compound. In laboratory experiments, the numbers ofMyzus persicae (Sulz.) settling and nymphs deposited on plants were decreased by some of the reaction products. Acquisition, and thereby transmission, of the semipersistent beet yellows virus and the nonpersistent potato virus Y, was decreased.
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