Impact of potato psyllid (Hemiptera: Triozidae) feeding on free amino acid composition in potato

Abstract The impacts of potato psyllid (Bactericera cockerelli) feeding on potato foliage on the free amino acids (FAAs) composition in potato leaf and tubers were determined under greenhouse conditions. The free amino acids in plant extracts were separated by high‐performance liquid chromatography, and in both leaf and tuber samples, at least 17 FAAs were detected. Psyllid feeding significantly changed the levels of several FAAs in both leaf and tuber samples. The concentration of leucine increased 1.5‐fold, whereas that of serine and proline increased 2‐ and 3‐fold, respectively. In contrast, the concentrations of glutamic acid, aspartic acid and lyscine were significantly reduced by 42.0%, 52.1% and 27.5%, respectively. There were also significant changes in the levels of FAAs in the Zebra chip (ZC) infected tubers compared with the healthy tubers, and the levels of six of the FAAs increased, and the levels of nine of the FAAs decreased. The results from this study indicate that potato psyllid causes major changes in free amino acid composition of plant tissues, and this change in plant metabolism may contribute to the plant stress as indicated by increased levels of proline in the leaves and hence promoting the development of plant diseases such as ZC disease.