An Integrated Approach to Studying the Wheat-Diuraphis noxia Interaction for Identifying Aphid Biotypes and Assessing Plant Responses.

In the last four decades, Diuraphis noxia, commonly known as Russian wheat aphid (RWA), has been identified as one of the economically important pests, capable of causing huge wheat yield losses. In South Africa (SA) and North America (NA), extensive studies on RWA virulence on different wheat genotypes have classified the RWA into five SA- and eight NA-biotypes. However, standardized methods covering the wheat infestation processes from collecting RWA populations in the field, verifying the RWA biotypes, and using biotypes to infest wheat plants for biochemical, physiological, and molecular biology experiments are still missing. Here, we provide a standard procedure for multiplying aphid population collections from the field, determining their biotypic status, and using them in glasshouse trials to study wheat biochemical and physiological responses. Finally, we update the 10-point leaf tissue damage rating scale for wheat phenotypic responses.