Some plants activate defenses against aphids by changing the expression of
specific genes. Previous studies revealed a mutant of Arabidopsis thaliana
that hindered the development of the aphid Myzus persicae. Ben Vosman from
Wageningen UR in Netherlands, and his team further characterized this mutant
to identify what reduced the performance of M. persicae.

Results reveal that gene SKU5 SIMILAR 13 (SKS13), expressed only in pollen
of wild type Arabidopsis, is overexpressed in the leaves of the mutant. The
aphid had difficulty in feeding from the phloem, which led to its reduced
performance. Overxpression of SKS13 in leaves also reduced performance of
Brevicoryne brassicae, another phloem-feeding aphid.

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