Many insects feed on xylem or phloem sap of vascular plants. Although physical damage to the plant is minimal, the process of insect feeding can transmit lethal viruses and bacterial pathogens. Disparities between insect-mediated pathogen transmission efficiency have been identified among xylem sap-feeding insects; however, the mechanistic drivers of these trends are unclear. Identifying and understanding the structural factors and associated integrated functional components that may ultimately determine these disparities are critical for managing plant diseases. Here, we applied synchrotron-based X-ray microcomputed tomography to digitally reconstruct the morphology of three xylem sap-feeding insect vectors of plant pathogens: Graphocephala atropunctata (blue-green sharpshooter; Hemiptera, Cicadellidae) and Homalodisca vitripennis (glassy-winged sharpshooter; Hemiptera, Cicadellidae), and the spittlebug Philaenus spumarius (meadow spittlebug; Hemiptera, Aphrophoridae). The application of this technique revealed previously undescribed anatomical features of these organisms, such as key components of the salivary complex. The visualization of the 3D structure of the precibarial valve led to new insights into the mechanism of how this structure functions. Morphological disparities with functional implications between taxa were highlighted as well, including the morphology and volume of the cibarial dilator musculature responsible for extracting xylem sap, which has implications for force application capabilities. These morphological insights will be used to target analyses illuminating functional differences in feeding behavior.

中文翻译：

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农业拮抗剂的解剖：利用基于同步加速器的 3D 成像照明三种木质部汁液昆虫的复杂结构和功能

许多昆虫以维管植物的木质部或韧皮部汁液为食。尽管对植物的物理损害很小，但昆虫取食的过程可以传播致命的病毒和细菌病原体。在以木质部汁液为食的昆虫中，昆虫介导的病原体传播效率之间存在差异；然而，这些趋势的机械驱动因素尚不清楚。识别和理解可能最终决定这些差异的结构因素和相关的综合功能组件对于管理植物病害至关重要。在这里，我们应用基于同步加速器的 X 射线微计算机断层扫描以数字方式重建植物病原体的三种木质部汁液喂养昆虫媒介的形态：Graphocephala atropunctata（蓝绿神枪手；半翅目，叶蝉科）和 Homalodisca vitripennis（玻璃翅神枪手；半翅目蝉科 (Ccadellidae) 和飞沫蛾Philaenus spumarius (草甸飞沫蝉；半翅目蝉科 (Aphrophoridae))。这项技术的应用揭示了这些生物体以前未描述的解剖学特征，例如唾液复合物的关键成分。前瓣 3D 结构的可视化使人们对该结构的功能机制有了新的认识。还强调了类群之间具有功能影响的形态差异，包括负责提取木质部汁液的颈椎扩张器肌肉组织的形态和体积，这对施力能力有影响。这些形态学见解将用于目标分析，阐明进食行为的功能差异。