RT Journal Article SR Electronic(1) A1 Betancourt, Mónica A1 Fraile, Aurora A1 Milgroom, Michael G. A1 García-Arenal, FernandoYR 2016 T1 Aphid vector population density determines the emergence of necrogenic satellite RNAs in populations of cucumber mosaic virus JF Journal of General Virology, VO 97 IS 6 SP 1453 OP 1457 DO https://doi.org/10.1099/jgv.0.000435 PB Microbiology Society, SN 1465-2099, AB The satellite RNAs of cucumber mosaic virus (CMV) that induce systemic necrosis in tomato plants (N-satRNA) multiply to high levels in the infected host while severely depressing CMV accumulation and, hence, its aphid transmission efficiency. As N-satRNAs are transmitted into CMV particles, the conditions for N-satRNA emergence are not obvious. Model analyses with realistic parameter values have predicted that N-satRNAs would invade CMV populations only when transmission rates are high. Here, we tested this hypothesis experimentally by passaging CMV or CMV+N-satRNAs at low or high aphid densities (2 or 8 aphids/plant). As predicted, high aphid densities were required for N-satRNA emergence. The results showed that at low aphid densities, random effects due to population bottlenecks during transmission dominate the epidemiological dynamics of CMV/CMV+N-satRNA. The results suggest that maintaining aphid populations at low density will prevent the emergence of highly virulent CMV+N-satRNA isolates., UL https://www.microbiologyresearch.org/content/journal/jgv/10.1099/jgv.0.000435