Aphids cost US agriculture billions of dollars/year in yield losses and costs of pesticide application used in aphid control. In recent years, the soybean aphid has been a serious problem for Iowa soybean producers, costing them millions of dollars in aphid control (pesticide application) and/or yield loss. Genetic resistance is inadequate, and the mechanism of resistance is not understood.

To understand, and thus improve, soybean resistance to aphids, they are characterizing the response of resistant vs. susceptible soybean lines to soybean aphid infestation. They have identified nearly 1,000 genes that are differentially regulated in response to aphids or in resistant plants. Now...