The pea aphid Acyrthosiphon pisum is a common pest of many species of legumes and its parasitoid Aphidius ervi is regarded as a successful biocontrol agent. In this study, we report a greater survival rate of parasitized aphids compared with unparasitized ones, after exposure to a very high temperature (39 degrees C for 30 min). After the heat shock, the survival of unparasitized aphids decreases according to their age at the heat shock treatment, suggesting a different adaptation of the aphid life stage to the different microclimatic conditions they experience. Survival of parasitized aphids does not change according to the time of the heat shock treatment, but it is always significantly higher compared with the unparasitized ones. Parasitized aphids are very quickly subjected to a wide range of physiological modifications and the observed increased survival could be a consequence of these modifications before the heat shock treatment. The possible explanations as well as the possible adaptive nature of the observed phenomenon are discussed.

The aphid Acyrthosiphon pisum exhibits a greater survival after a heat shock when parasitized by the wasp Aphidius ervi

Vincenzo Trotta
;
Pierluigi Forlano;Patrizia Falabella;Donatella Battaglia;Paolo Fanti
2018-01-01

Abstract

The pea aphid Acyrthosiphon pisum is a common pest of many species of legumes and its parasitoid Aphidius ervi is regarded as a successful biocontrol agent. In this study, we report a greater survival rate of parasitized aphids compared with unparasitized ones, after exposure to a very high temperature (39 degrees C for 30 min). After the heat shock, the survival of unparasitized aphids decreases according to their age at the heat shock treatment, suggesting a different adaptation of the aphid life stage to the different microclimatic conditions they experience. Survival of parasitized aphids does not change according to the time of the heat shock treatment, but it is always significantly higher compared with the unparasitized ones. Parasitized aphids are very quickly subjected to a wide range of physiological modifications and the observed increased survival could be a consequence of these modifications before the heat shock treatment. The possible explanations as well as the possible adaptive nature of the observed phenomenon are discussed.
2018
File in questo prodotto:
File Dimensione Formato  
Trotta et al. 20171-s2.0-S0306456517303601-main.pdf

accesso aperto

Tipologia: Pdf editoriale
Licenza: DRM non definito
Dimensione 342.78 kB
Formato Adobe PDF
342.78 kB Adobe PDF Visualizza/Apri

I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.

Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/11563/131183
Citazioni
  • ???jsp.display-item.citation.pmc??? ND
  • Scopus 8
  • ???jsp.display-item.citation.isi??? 8
social impact