Sugar transporter VST1 knockout reduced aphid damage in watermelon.

1 Loss of VST1 restricts sugar loading into the intercellular space for protection against aphid infestation in watermelon. a Leaf curl phenotypes of WT, vst1-1 and vst1-2 lines upon aphid infestation. Remarkably, the OE plants showed severe leaf curl phenotype than WT plants after aphid infestation (Figure S1a), suggesting that the sugar transporter VST1 plays a negative role in aphid tolerance. [Extracted from the article]