This award will provide supplementary support to enable Dr. Harry Bottenberg of the University of Illinois to conduct collaborative research with Dr. Shunichi Miyai for 24 months at the Tohoku Agricultural Experiment Station in Japan. They will utilize Bottenberg's expertise on insect-born plant virus diseases to study the effects temperature has on A. solani, the sole vector of soybean dwarf virus (SDV). SDV, a serious disease of soybeans in Japan and a potential threat to legume production world- wide, is transmitted by an aphid, A. solani, that feeds and multiplies on soybeans. The factors that influence the reproduction and mortality of this aphid species and the spread of SDV are not well understood, although recent data from Japan suggests that temperature may play an important role in these processes. Bottenberg and Miyai will investigate the impact of temperature on vector population growth, vector feeding behavior, vector dispersal, SDV transmission, and SDV spread. The specimens, fields, and facilities of the Experiment Station, as well as Dr. Miyai's expertise in A. solani will complement Dr. Bottenberg's experience with aphid-born viruses and will facilitate the development of a simulation model that can be used to predict and prevent SDV outbreaks and soybean yield loss.
