Searching for resistance in Arabidopsis thaliana to the green peach aphid Myzus persicae

A simple and fast bioassay technique has been developed to screen Arabidops is thaliana L. Heyhn. germplasm for aphid resistance. This technique, in a single test, allows for the selection of A. thaliana ecotypes that exhibit antixenosis and/or antibiosis resistance. Adult aphids were released in the center of petri dishes where plant seedlings of six different ecotypes wer e grown at a time (choice test). After 24 h, aphids and their new-born nymp hs were counted in each ecotype. An overall resistance index was determined combining both antixenosis and antibiosis types of resistance. A collectio n of A. thaliana ecotypes was classified using this type of resistance inde x. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.