Virulence of long-term laboratory populations of the brown planthopper, Nilaparvata lugens (Stal), and whitebacked Planthopper, Sogatella furcifera (Horvath) (Homoptera: Delphacidae), on rice differential varieties

The virulence of laboratory strains of the brown planthopper (BPH), Nilaparvata lugens (Stal), and the whitebacked planthopper (WBPH), Sogatella furcifera (Horvath), collected in Japan between 1966 and 2005, was evaluated using rice differential varieties carrying different planthopper resistance genes. The BPH strain collected in 1966 was avirulent to all the rice varieties tested. In contrast, the 1989, 1999 and 2005 strains were virulent to Mudgo, which carries Bphl. The 1999 and 2005 strains were virulent to ASD7 (bph2). Thus, the virulence status of the laboratory BPH strains was the same as in previous reports. The 1989, 1999, and 2005 WBPH strains were virulent to N22 (Wbph1), Mudgo, ASD7, Babawee (bph4) and Chin Saba (bph8); the 1999 and 2005 WBPH strains were also virulent to ARC 10239 (Wbph2). Although the virulence status of WBPH in Japan has not previously been studied, the present results suggest that the effectiveness of the Wbph1 resistance gene broke down before 1989, while that of Wbph2 broke down between 1989 and 1999. The present study showed that long-term mass rearing in the laboratory has not affected virulence status. Thus, these strains will be useful to analyze resistance genes against BPH and WBPH.