Three-decades of electrical penetration graph technique innovation in China
Author of the article:LI Jing-Jing；PAN Jian-Bin；WU Li-Li；LU Shao-Hua；YAN Feng-Ming
Author's Workplace：College of Plant Protection, Henan Agricultural University, Zhengzhou 450002, China; College of Sciences, Henan Agricultural University, Zhengzhou 450002, China; School of Food Science and Technology, Henan University of Technology, Zhengzhou 450001, China
Key Words：electrical penetration graph; EPG; piercing-sucking insects; application; innovation; technique systems
Abstract：The electrical penetration graph (EPG) and related techniques are an important electrophysiological tool for studying the feeding behavior of piercing-sucking insects. Since the 1990’s, EPG has been applied in a range of biological and agricultural researches in China, such as plant-insect interactions, plant resistance, virus transmission, safety assessment of transgenic crops and global climate change, and has been used on piercing-sucking (Hemiptera) agricultural or forestry pests, including aphids, whiteflies, leafhoppers, planthoppers, scale insects, psyllids and thrips (Thysanoptera). Five training courses and symposia on EPG have been held in China since 2007. New types of EPG instruments have been developed and manufactured in China and most consumable materials (such as gold wire and silver glue) are available domestically. EPG-related application techniques, for example, EPG recording of artificial diets (membrane-feeding) and variable systems, have been optimized. EPG is mainly applied to agricultural or forestry pests in China, whereas in Europe and the US it has also recently been applied in research on insects that affect human or animal health. Extensive research on the construction of EPG waveform libraries and basic instrumental principles has been done in Europe and the US. Further work is required to improve the automatization and visualization of EPG instruments, the automatic recognition of waveforms and the optimization of variable systems. In addition, we need to train more young scientists to use EPG for various purposes and attempt to use EPG to study insects that adversely affect human and animal health.