The foraging gene is involved the presence of alate parthenogenetic females and explorative behaviours in the peach potato aphid Myzus persicae (Homoptera, Aphididae)

The foraging gene (for) encodes for a cyclic guanosine monophosphate (cGMP)-dependent protein kinase involved in behavioural plasticity in aphids and in other insects. In the present paper we analysed the complete for sequence in eight clones of the peach potato aphid Myzus persicae re-porting the presence of nonsense and frameshift mutations in the three studied clones character-ized by a reduced number of winged females and by the absence of exploratory behaviours. Quantitative PCR experiments evidenced similar results in clones possessing for genes with a conserved coding sequence, but low expression levels. The comparison of the for transcriptional level in Myzus persicae persicae and Myzus persicae nicotianae showed very different expression in the two studied M. p. nicotianae clones so that our data didn’t support a previous hypothesis suggesting that a differential for expression was related to ecological specialization of M. p. nico-tianae. In view of its role in both the dispersal of winged females and exploratory behaviours, the screening of the for sequences could be useful for predicting invasions of cultivated areas by peach potato aphids.