The role of RNAs in insect-plant interactions

The green peach aphid Myzus persicae is an economically important pest of wide range of crops worldwide. This insect does not only cause feeding damage but also transmits over a 100 different plant viruses. There is a need to develop new methods to protect crops from aphids and other agricultural insect pests.
This project will study how aphid RNAs migrate within plants and modulate plant processes. Generating this fundamental knowledge will be important for assessing how these insects establish intimate interactions with plants and how they efficiently transmit viruses. The project is likely to lead to the identification of new strategies to control sap-feeding insect pests that do not damage beneficial invertebrates, such as bees.
The project has the following three aims: (1) Annotate M. persicae RNAs that migrate systemically in plants; (2) Determine how aphid RNAs modulate aphid-plant interactions; and (3) Investigate mechanisms involved in systemic migration of aphid RNAs in plants.