Abstract
This chapter reviews virus transmission by aphids, with particular emphasis on the attributes that make aphids such well-adapted vectors, the different modes of transmission, determinants of transmissibility, factors affecting virus acquisition and inoculation, and control methods. The virus-vector interactions vary widely from superficial binding with aphid cuticular surfaces associated with a rapid transmission cycle (non-persistent/non-circulative), to more long-term processes involving selective transport across gut and salivary gland membranes (persistent/circulative) and, in some cases, multiplication within the aphid (circulative/propagative). Understanding the molecular mechanisms regulating interactions between aphid salivary components, aphid-transmitted viruses and plant cell biology will be an important area for future research, as well as the use of novel remote-sensing technologies and precision agriculture methods to monitor the population dynamics of aphids and ultimately control the viruses they spread.