Abstract
Potato leafroll virus (PLRV) was detected in a single green peach aphid (Myzus persicae SuLz.) by PCR-microplate hybridization method. As little as 5 min feeding of aphids on PLRV-infected potato leaves gave the PLRV-positive reactions in 5.6% of aphids. The percentage of PLRV-positive aphids increased with longer acquisition-feeding period on infected leaves, and reached more than 80% after 8hr and 100% after 72hr feeding. PLRV could be detected from the groups consisted of a single viruliferous aphid and 29 non-viruliferous aphids. In addition, PLRV was detected not only from apterous (wingless) aphids but also from alate (winged) aphids. No significant difference in the detectable rate was observed in the both aphids between stored in 70% ethanol and kept in water for 3 days. PLRV was detected from aphids caught in yellow-pan water traps placed in potato fields where leafroll disease had not occurred. Therefore, this method is useful to detect viruliferous aphids for the control of leafroll disease in the fields.
