Crop Plant Cellular Response to Aphid Pest

The Problem

Both garden and crop plants are targeted by more than 4,000 species of aphids that feed on their sap. Many of these 4,000 species can tolerate pesticides and reduce their exposure to chemicals by residing on the underside of leaves.

The Research

Developing crop varieties with enhanced resistance to aphids is one of the most effective, economical and environmentally safe strategies to manage aphid crop pests.

Fiona Goggin, a Division of Agriculture entomologist specializing in plant-insect interactions, is researching the role of chloroplast and singlet oxygen in plant defenses against aphids.

Researchers posit that chloroplasts act as sensors to detect damage by pathogens. Stromules, which are projections formed by the chloroplast, aid in transmitting signals to the nucleus that can modify gene expression and promote defenses against attackers. Singlet oxygen is a particular kind of reactive oxygen species, or ROS, that have strong reactions with other chemicals and can play a role in plant defenses against aphids as well.

Goggin is leading a research team to find out if aphid attacks stimulate the formation of stromules. She also wants to investigate the role of singlet oxygen and whether it accumulates in response to aphids. Her research will include identifying and counting chloroplasts with stromules, detecting changes in the chloroplast after plants are exposed to stressors, and to detect singlet oxygen response in plants.

The Bottom Line

Goggin’s research is aimed at building a basis of knowledge that can help plant breeders develop crops with increased levels of resistance to aphids, as well as bring about many tools for other researchers to investigate pant defenses and plant-insect interactions.

The Researcher

Research Highlights  »  Plant Production