Cuticular structure proteomics analyses of the pea aphid Acyrthosiphon pisum

Aphids are sap-feeding insects with piercing-sucking mouthparts. They are serious pests in agriculture and provoke significant losses, with a formidable capacity to transmit numerous plant viruses causing diseases in almost all important crops. The majority of viruses are acquired after feeding on an infected plant, retained on the aphid’s stylet and inoculated to healthy ones with a single probing puncture, promoting viral outbreaks. We have recently discovered the acrostyle, an organ located at the tip of aphid maxillary stylets, that harbors the receptors for Cauliflower Mosaic Virus (CaMV), and likely those for numerous other viruses. To our opinion, establishing an exhaustive inventory of the cuticular proteins composing the acrostyle, defining the peptide motifs accessible at the surface, identifying virus receptors among these proteins, will contribute to better understand virus/vector and plant/insect interactions at different scales including the molecular level. In this manuscript, we identify proteins or peptides at the surface of aphid stylets that might play a key role in plant virus binding. This may help to pave the way for future alternative “environmentally safe” strategies to control viral spread and aphid infestation in important crops worldwide.