Aphid saliva: Knowledge about its function in aphid-plant interactions is a key for aphid control

Aphids remove nutrition from plants, transmit phytopathogenic virusus and excrete honeydew, factors which reduce plant harvest and yield quality. Thus the disruption ingestion most likely leads to a mitigation of aphid’s negative impacts on plant growth. Several studies investigate aphid salivary proteins as a key factor in aphid-plant interaction and thus as a potential target in aphid control. Proteomic approaches combined with available genomic data clear the way for a functional screening that includes RNAi analysis, aphid behavioral and fitness observations. Our research identifies several salivary proteins relevant to aphid’s host plant access; suitable targets for RNAi based plant protection strategies.