关键词: 蚜虫, 非持久性病毒, 口针, 取食行为, 唾液蛋白

Abstract: Plant viruses pose a severe threat to agricultural production and quality safety, and their epidemics and outbreaks depend heavily on transmission by insect vectors. Aphids are one of the most important insect vectors of plant viruses in nature, which can efficiently transmit hundreds of plant viruses in a non-persistent manner. Since the viral transmission processes are extremely rapid from seconds to minutes in aphids, it is difficult to precisely control the spread of aphid-borne viruses using conventional strategies. The transmission efficiency of non-persistent viruses is closely associated with the piercing-sucking activities and highly specialized structure of stylet of aphids. In recent years, significant progresses have been made in the mechanisms governing virions to recognize and attach with specific sites of aphid stylet, the regulatory roles of aphid salivary effectors in viral acquisition and transmission, and the molecular functions of virus-encoded proteins in regulating viral accquisition and transmission. In this review, we systematically summarized the transmission strategies of non-persistent viruses and the molecular basis for efficient aphid-mediated virus transmission. The specialized stylets of aphids are the key sites for virus attachment, with identified cuticular proteins proven to function as viral binding sites. The feeding and salivary secretion behaviors of aphids are closely linked to the virus transmission process. Key salivary components achieve efficient viral transmission by suppressing plant immune defenses and modulating the microenvironment of plant tissues.  Finally, we proposed that the identification of the virus receptors of aphid stylet, analysis of binding and dissociation mechanisms, and exploration of the new functions of salivary sheath proteins are future research hotspots and cutting-edge directions in this field. The outcomes lay a theoretical foundation for a deeper understanding that aphids are the major insect vectors for the transmission of non-persistent plant viruses, and provide practical targets for the development of precise control technology based on viral binding sites of aphid stylet.

Key words: Aphids, non-persistent virus, stylet, feeding behavior, salivary protein