A global assessment of the viruses transmitted by the peach‐potato aphid ( Myzus persicae )

Abstract Myzus persicae is a medium‐sized aphid that has rapidly become a global crop pest due to its ability to transmit a broad range of plant viruses to a wide range of plant hosts. The aphid is routinely cited as capable of transmitting over 100 different plant viruses. We used historical data to scrutinise each historical virus/viroid record attributed to M. persicae to establish whether it is now considered by the International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses (ICTV) classification to be a valid ‘biological virus species’ and not a strain, isolate, or common name synonym. We impose ICTV's recently erected Latin binomial classification alongside the common name of each virus to show that M. persicae transmits 196 viruses, drawn exclusively from the Riboviria, and 1 viroid that all use ribonucleic acid (RNA) as their primary genetic material. Most, but not all, viruses are efficiently transmitted. Virus presence in GB matches well with Northwestern European presence. The largest virus group transmitted by M. persicae is the non‐persistent Potyviridae, particularly Potyvirus . No Rhabdoviruses are transmitted. We present a summary of 15 of the world's most impactful agricultural and horticultural viruses vectored by M. persicae , illustrating Tier 1 viruses that have a global impact at a cost of more than $1 Bn pa (e.g., Plum pox virus; Potato virus Y), causing pandemics and epidemics at scale, and Tier 2 viruses that are the cause of significant moderate or high regional or continental impact (e.g., Sugarcane mosaic virus; Watermelon mosaic virus).