Cereal aphids (CA) and aphid-transmitted barley yellow dwarf virus (BYDV), the most destructive pandemic pathogen of monocots, cause an estimated annual economic loss of over $1 billion to staple food crops worldwide. Three predominant species in the cereal aphid complex are greenbug (Gb), bird cherry-oat aphid (BCOA) and English grain aphid (EGA). Our lab is collaborating with Subhashree Subramanyam at USDA-APHIS, West Lafayette, IN to understand the role of a few candidate genes in aphid virulence and BYDV transmission in wheat.