Automated Video Tracking to Phenotype Plant Resistance to Aphid-Transmitted Yellow Dwarf Viruses in Grass Seed Crops

Grass seed crops are susceptible to yellow dwarf viruses transmitted by aphids. The Willamette Valley in Oregon USA is the leading producer of cool-season grass seed crops globally, and industry reports have attributed seed yield loss and shortened stand longevity to aphid-transmitted yellow dwarf viruses. Genetic resources are needed for effective and sustainable management of this pest, specifically the Rhopalosiphum padi–PAV pathosystem, in grass seed production to reduce foliar insecticide applications and maintain optimum seed yield potential. High-throughput phenotyping methods are needed to screen grass seed cultivars to identify resistant traits for traditional breeding programs. An automated video tracking procedure was optimized to evaluate host plant resistance in cool-season grass seed crops to R. padi–PAV with live plants and viruliferous and non-viruliferous aphid populations. Feeding behavior recorded with automated video tracking was strongly correlated with ‘ground-truthed’ observations by human observers. Partial resistance (antixenosis and antibiosis) and tolerance traits were detected in select perennial ryegrass and tall fescue cultivars evaluated with traditional phenotyping methods in a greenhouse setting and with high-throughput phenotyping using automated video tracking in the laboratory. Across grass cultivars, nonviruliferous aphids had greater fitness and preference for non-infected grass plants compared to viruliferous aphids. Automated video tracking can be used as a high-throughput phenotyping method for continued evaluation of host plant resistance in grasses grown for seed production, as well as to identify resistant genotypes in other grass crops susceptible to aphid-YDV virus-vector systems.