Overexpression and alternative splicing of the glutamate-gated chloride channel are associated with emamectin benzoate resistance in the rice stem borer, Chilo suppressalis Walker (Lepidoptera: Crambidae).

Background: The rice stem borer, Chilo suppressalis Walker (Lepidoptera: Crambidae), is a damaging pest of rice worldwide. Following the evolution of C. suppressalis resistance to diamide and abamectin insecticides, emamectin benzoate (EB) became a key insecticide for the control of this species in China.

Plant defense metabolites influence the interaction between an insect herbivore and an entomovirus.

The tri-trophic interaction of plants, insect herbivores, and entomoviruses is an important topic in ecology and pest control. The susceptibility of insect herbivores to entomoviruses (e.g.

GPCR-MAPK signaling pathways underpin fitness trade-offs in whitefly.

Trade-offs between evolutionary gain and loss are prevalent in nature, yet their genetic basis is not well resolved. The evolution of insect resistance to insecticide is often associated with strong fitness costs; however, how the fitness trade-offs operates remains poorly understood. Here, we show that the mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) pathway and its upstream and downstream actors underlie the fitness trade-offs associated with insecticide resistance in the whitefly .

Bulk segregant mapping and transcriptome analyses reveal the molecular mechanisms of spinetoram resistance in Spodoptera frugiperda.

The evolution of resistance to insecticides poses a significant threat to pest management programs. Understanding the molecular mechanisms underlying insecticide resistance is essential to design sustainable pest control and resistance management programs. The fall armyworm, Spodoptera frugiperda, is an important insect pest of many crops and has a remarkable ability to evolve resistance to insecticides.

UDP-glycosyltransferases act as key determinants of host plant range in generalist and specialist species.

Phytophagous insects have evolved sophisticated detoxification systems to overcome the antiherbivore chemical defenses produced by many plants. However, how these biotransformation systems differ in generalist and specialist insect species and their role in determining insect host plant range remains an open question. Here, we show that UDP-glucosyltransferases (UGTs) play a key role in determining the host range of insect species within the genus.

Aberrant splicing of a nicotinic acetylcholine receptor alpha 6 subunit is associated with spinosad tolerance in the thrips predator Orius laevigatus.

Susceptibility to insecticides is one of the limiting factors preventing wider adoption of natural enemies to control insect pest populations. Identification and selective breeding of insecticide tolerant strains of commercially used biological control agents (BCAs) is one of the approaches to overcome this constraint. Although a number of beneficial insects have been selected for increased tolerance to insecticides the molecular mechanisms underpinning these shifts in tolerance are not well characterised.

Manipulating multi-level selection in a fungal entomopathogen reveals social conflicts and a method for improving biocontrol traits.

Changes in parasite virulence are commonly expected to lead to trade-offs in other life history traits that can affect fitness. Understanding these trade-offs is particularly important if we want to manipulate the virulence of microbial biological control agents. Theoretically, selection across different spatial scales, i.

Dual mutations in the whitefly nicotinic acetylcholine receptor β1 subunit confer target-site resistance to multiple neonicotinoid insecticides.

Neonicotinoid insecticides, which target insect nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs), have been widely and intensively used to control the whitefly, Bemisia tabaci, a highly damaging, globally distributed, crop pest. This has inevitably led to the emergence of populations with resistance to neonicotinoids. However, to date, there have been no reports of target-site resistance involving mutation of B.

The molecular determinants of pesticide sensitivity in bee pollinators.

Bees carry out vital ecosystem services by pollinating both wild and economically important crop plants. However, while performing this function, bee pollinators may encounter potentially harmful xenobiotics in the environment such as pesticides (fungicides, herbicides and insecticides). Understanding the key factors that influence the toxicological outcomes of bee exposure to these chemicals, in isolation or combination, is essential to safeguard their health and the ecosystem services they provide.

The role of the Bemisia tabaci and Trialeurodes vaporariorum cytochrome-P450 clade CYP6DPx in resistance to nicotine and neonicotinoids.

The alkaloid, nicotine, produced by tobacco and other Solanaceae as an anti-herbivore defence chemical is one of the most toxic natural insecticides in nature. However, some insects, such as the whitefly species, Trialeurodes vaporariorum and Bemisia tabaci show strong tolerance to this allelochemical and can utilise tobacco as a host. Here, we used biological, molecular and functional approaches to investigate the role of cytochrome P450 enzymes in nicotine tolerance in T.

Symbiotic bacteria confer insecticide resistance by metabolizing buprofezin in the brown planthopper, Nilaparvata lugens (Stål).

Buprofezin, a chitin synthesis inhibitor, is widely used to control several economically important insect crop pests. However, the overuse of buprofezin has led to the evolution of resistance and exposed off-target organisms present in agri-environments to this compound. As many as six different strains of bacteria isolated from these environments have been shown to degrade buprofezin.

Transposon accumulation at xenobiotic gene family loci in aphids.

The evolution of resistance is a major challenge for the sustainable control of pests and pathogens. Thus, a deeper understanding of the evolutionary and genomic mechanisms underpinning resistance evolution is required to safeguard health and food production. Several studies have implicated transposable elements (TEs) in xenobiotic-resistance evolution in insects.

Characterization of emamectin benzoate resistance in the diamondback moth, Plutella xylostella (Lepidoptera: Plutellidae).

Background: Plutella xylostella (L.) is a destructive pest of cruciferous crops worldwide that has evolved resistance to many insecticides. Here we examined the mode of inheritance, cross-resistance profile, and potential mechanisms of emamectin benzoate resistance in a field-derived strain of P.

Transcriptomic investigation of the molecular mechanisms underlying resistance to the neonicotinoid thiamethoxam and the pyrethroid lambda-cyhalothrin in Euschistus heros (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae).

Background: Laboratory-selected resistant strains of Euschistus heros to thiamethoxam (NEO) and lambda-cyhalothrin (PYR) were recently reported in Brazil. However, the mechanisms conferring resistance to these insecticides in E. heros remain unresolved.

A conserved hymenopteran-specific family of cytochrome P450s protects bee pollinators from toxic nectar alkaloids.

Many plants produce chemical defense compounds as protection against antagonistic herbivores. However, how beneficial insects such as pollinators deal with the presence of these potentially toxic chemicals in nectar and pollen is poorly understood. Here, we characterize a conserved mechanism of plant secondary metabolite detoxification in the Hymenoptera, an order that contains numerous highly beneficial insects.

The molecular mechanisms of insecticide resistance in aphid crop pests.

Aphids are a group of hemipteran insects that include some of the world's most economically important agricultural pests. The control of pest aphids has relied heavily on the use of chemical insecticides, however, the evolution of resistance poses a serious threat to their sustainable control. Over 1000 cases of resistance have now been documented for aphids involving a remarkable diversity of mechanisms that, individually or in combination, allow the toxic effect of insecticides to be avoided or overcome.

A single point mutation in the Bemisia tabaci cytochrome-P450 CYP6CM1 causes enhanced resistance to neonicotinoids.

The tobacco whitefly, Bemisia tabaci, is a polyphagous crop pest which causes high levels of economic damage across the globe. Insecticides are often required for the effective control of this species, among which the neonicotinoid class have been particularly widely used. Deciphering the mechanisms responsible for resistance to these chemicals is therefore critical to maintain control of B.

Differential regulation of the Tor gene homolog drives the red/green pigmentation phenotype in the aphid Myzuspersicae.

In some aphid species, intraspecific variation in body colour is caused by differential carotenoid content: whilst green aphids contain only yellow carotenoids (β-, γ-, and β,γ-carotenes), red aphids additionally possess red carotenoids (torulene and 3,4-didehydrolycopene). Unusually, within animals who typically obtain carotenoids from their diet, ancestral horizontal gene transfer of carotenoid biosynthetic genes from fungi (followed by gene duplication), have imbued aphids with the intrinsic gene repertoire necessary to biosynthesise carotenoids. In the pea aphid, Acyrthosiphon pisum a lycopene (phytoene) desaturase gene (Tor) underpins the red/green phenotype, with this locus present in heterozygous form in red individuals but absent in green aphids, resulting in them being unable to convert lycopene into the red compounds 3,4-didehydrolycopene and torulene.

The genome sequence of the Neotropical brown stink bug, Euschistus heros provides insights into population structure, demographic history and signatures of adaptation.

The Neotropical brown stink bug, Euschistus heros, is a major pest of soybean in South America. The importance of E. heros as a pest has grown significantly in recent times due to increases in its abundance and range, and the evolution of insecticide resistance.