Climate and atmospheric change impacts on aphids as vectors of plant diseases

This chapter demonstrates how multiple environmental variables can interact to affect plant and aphid populations and, subsequently, the spread of viruses. Climate and atmospheric conditions can modify virus biology and plant growth individually, although few studies have linseed virus titre with plant growth under expected future conditions. Climate and atmospheric changes have the potential to alter various characteristics associated with the virus‐vector interaction, including acquisition efficiency, latency of persistently transmitted viruses or inoculation efficiency. While the effects of climate and atmospheric changes on plants, insects and viruses are often interlinked, few studies have incorporated interactions between all four corners of the disease pyramid. Viruses have been shown to alter plant volatile organic compounds to attract non‐viruliferous aphids. Specifically, barley yellow dwarf virus (BYDV) and potato leaf roll virus (PLRV) infection altered the relative composition of volatile organic compounds in wheat, which attracted both Rhopalosiphum padi and Myzus persicae.