| Summary: | The <i>foraging</i> gene (<i>for</i>) encodes for a cyclic guanosine monophosphate (cGMP)-dependent protein kinase involved in behavioural plasticity in aphids and in other insects. In this paper, we analysed the complete <i>for</i> sequence in eight clones of the peach potato aphid <i>Myzus persicae,</i> reporting the presence of nonsense and frameshift mutations in three studied clones characterized by a reduced number of winged females and by the absence of exploratory behaviours. Quantitative PCR experiments evidenced similar results in clones possessing <i>for</i> genes with a conserved coding sequence, but low expression levels. The comparison of the <i>for</i> transcriptional level in <i>Myzus persicae persicae</i> and <i>Myzus persicae nicotianae</i> showed very different expression in the two studied <i>M. p. nicotianae</i> clones so that our data did not support a previous hypothesis suggesting that a differential <i>for</i> expression was related to ecological specialization of <i>M. p. nicotianae</i>. In view of its role in both the dispersal of winged females and exploratory behaviours, the screening of the <i>for</i> sequences could be useful for predicting invasions of cultivated areas by peach potato aphids.
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