Arthropod Transmission of Plant Viruses

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Abstract
Every year new virus vectors are being added to the long list of known virus transmitters. In the last decade, additions were made not only to previously known groups of arthropods, but several new and unexpected groups of vectors were discovered. The Membracidae and the Acarina are discussed briefly in this review. The mystery of soil-borne virus transmission has been clarified in a number of instances, when vectors were found among the Nematoda, first known nonarthropod vectors of plant viruses. The transmission of viruses is a complex process, even in the "simple" stylet-borne category; new techniques are needed to study and understand the basic mechanisms involved. One approach that seems very promising is through the development of insect tissue culture. It is hoped that the study of viruses in tissues and cells of vectors in vitro will eventually provide a new method for the investigation of arthropod-borne viruses and will permit accurate quantitative measurement of virus concentration by a plaque technique. Propagative viruses and even stylet-borne viruses could perhaps be adapted and cultivated in cells of higher, cold- and warm-blooded animals. Studies of the histology and fine structure of organs of arthropod vectors with the aid of the electron microscope may reveal changes caused by viruses and, in turn, may help in the understanding of virus-vector interactions. There is a bibliography with 243 references.