Wickizer S L, Gergerich R C
Department of Plant Pathology, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville 72701.
Plant Dis. 2007 May;91(5):637. doi: 10.1094/PDIS-91-5-0637C.
The Japanese beetle, Popillia japonica (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae), was introduced into the United States in New Jersey in 1916 and now commonly occurs in the eastern and mid-western United States. The Japanese beetle has a wide host range and feeds on more than 300 plant species within 79 families (2), but it has not been reported to be a vector of plant viruses. Southern bean mosaic virus (SBMV; genus Sobemovirus) and Bean pod mottle virus (BPMV; family Comoviridae, genus Comovirus) are transmitted by several species of leaf-feeding beetles in the families Coccinelidae and Chrysomelidae (1). Japanese beetles, collected in northwestern Arkansas with a JB Jumbo insect trap (Great Lakes IPM, Inc., Vestaburg, MI), were tested to determine if they are able to transmit SBMV and BPMV. The beetles were given a 24-h acquisition access (individually in plastic petri dishes) to detached trifoliolate leaves of Phaseolus vulgaris 'Black Valentine' systemically infected with either BPMV or SBMV. Beetles that had fed on the infected bean leaves (as evidenced by feeding damage to the leaves) were caged individually in clear plastic cups on healthy 'Black Valentine' bean seedlings for a 24-h transmission access period. The test plants were grown in the greenhouse for 2 weeks after which they were evaluated for virus infection. In the first trial, BPMV was not transmitted (0 of 11 bait plants with feeding damage), whereas SBMV was efficiently transmitted (6 of 6 bait plants with feeding damage) as determined by agar-gel double-diffusion serology of test plants using polyclonal antibodies to SBMV and BPMV. In a second trial, with a different set of beetles, the transmission rate for BPMV was 3 of 46 (6.5%) and 33 of 43 (77%) for SBMV, and the test plants were evaluated for virus infection using Protein A ELISA. The higher transmission efficiency of SBMV by Japanese beetles when compared with BPMV is characteristic of these two viruses when they are transmitted by other leaffeeding beetles (1). These results are in contrast to an earlier report that Japanese beetles were not able to transmit BPMV from infected soybeans to healthy soybeans in Illinois (3). To our knowledge, this is the first report that the Japanese beetle, an introduced insect with a wide host range in the United States, is a vector of plant viruses. References: (1) J. P. Fulton et al. Ann. Rev. Phytopathol. 25:111. 1987. (2) D. W. Held. J. Aboricult. 30:328, 2004. (3) T. R. Mabry et al. Plant Dis. 87:1221, 2003.
日本丽金龟（Popillia japonica，鞘翅目：金龟甲科）于1916年被引入美国新泽西州，如今在美国东部和中西部地区普遍存在。日本丽金龟的寄主范围广泛，取食79个科的300多种植物（2），但尚未有报道称其为植物病毒的传播媒介。南方菜豆花叶病毒（SBMV；南方菜豆花叶病毒属）和菜豆荚斑驳病毒（BPMV；豇豆花叶病毒科，豇豆花叶病毒属）可由瓢虫科和叶甲科的几种食叶甲虫传播（1）。使用JB Jumbo昆虫诱捕器（Great Lakes IPM公司，密歇根州维斯塔堡）在阿肯色州西北部采集的日本丽金龟，被用于测试其是否能够传播SBMV和BPMV。将这些丽金龟单独置于塑料培养皿中，给予它们24小时的取食机会，取食被BPMV或SBMV系统侵染的菜豆（Phaseolus vulgaris‘Black Valentine’）离体三出复叶。取食过染病豆叶的丽金龟（叶片上有取食损伤可证明）被单独置于透明塑料杯中，放在健康的‘Black Valentine’菜豆幼苗上，进行24小时的传毒期。测试植株在温室中生长2周，之后对其进行病毒感染评估。在第一次试验中，通过使用针对SBMV和BPMV的多克隆抗体对测试植株进行琼脂凝胶双扩散血清学检测，发现BPMV未被传播（11株有取食损伤的诱饵植株中0株传毒），而SBMV被有效传播（6株有取食损伤的诱饵植株中有6株传毒）。在第二次试验中，使用另一组丽金龟，BPMV的传毒率为46株中有3株（6.5%），SBMV为43株中有33株（77%），并使用蛋白A ELISA对测试植株进行病毒感染评估。与BPMV相比，日本丽金龟对SBMV的传播效率更高，这也是这两种病毒在由其他食叶甲虫传播时的特征（1）。这些结果与早期一份关于日本丽金龟在伊利诺伊州不能将BPMV从染病大豆传播至健康大豆的报道相反（3）。据我们所知，这是首次报道在美国寄主范围广泛的外来昆虫日本丽金龟是植物病毒的传播媒介。参考文献：（1）J. P. Fulton等人，《植物病理学年评》25:111，1987年。（2）D. W. Held，《园艺学杂志》30:328，2004年。（3）T. R. Mabry等人，《植物病害》87:1221，2003年。
