A global invasion by the thrip,Frankliniella occidentalis: Current virus vector status and its management

Western flower thrip, Frankliniella occidentalis (Pergande), is among the most economically important agricultural pests globally, attacking a wide range of vegetable and horticultural crops. In addition to causing extensive crop damage, the species is notorious for vectoring destructive plant viruses, mainly belonging to the genera Orthotospovirus, Ilarvirus, Alphacarmovirus and Machlomovirus. Once infected by orthotospoviruses, thrips can remain virulent throughout their lifespan and continue transmitting viruses to host plants when and wherever they feed. These irruptive viral outbreaks in crops will permanently disrupt functional integrated pest management systems, and typically require a remedial treatment involving insecticides, contributing to further development of insecticide resistance. To mitigate against this continuing cycle, the most effective management is early and comprehensive surveillance of the pest species and recognition of plant viruses in the field. This review provides information on the pest status of F. occidentalis, discusses the current global status of the viruses vectored by this thrip species, examines the mechanisms involved in transmitting virus‐induced diseases by thrips, and reviews different management strategies, highlighting the potential management tactics developed for various cropping systems. The early surveillance and the utilization of potential methods for control of both F. occidentalis and viruses are proposed.     

Predicting the unexpected: using a qualitative model of a New Zealand dryland ecosystem to anticipate pest management outcomes

Pest management is expensive and there is often uncertainty about the benefits for the resources being protected. There can also be unintended consequences for other parts of the ecosystem, especially in complex food webs. In making decisions managers generally have to rely on qualitative information collected in a piecemeal fashion. A method to assist decision making is a qualitative modelling approach using fuzzy cognitive maps, a directed graphical model related to neural networks that can take account of interactions between pests and conservation assets in complex food webs. Using all available information on relationships between native and exotic resources and consumers, we generated hypotheses about potential consequences of single‐species and multi‐species pest control on the long‐term equilibrium abundances of other biotic components of an ecosystem. We applied the model to a dryland ecosystem in New Zealand because we had good information on its trophic structure, but the information on the strength of species interactions was imprecise. Our model suggested that pest control is unlikely to significantly boost native invertebrates and lizards in this ecosystem, suggesting that other forms of management may be required for these groups. Most of the pest control regimes tested resulted in greater abundances of at least one other pest species, which could potentially lead to other management problems. Some of the predictions were unexpected, such as more birds resulting from possum and mouse control. We also modelled the effects of an increase in invasive rabbits, which led to unexpected declines of stoats, weasels, mice and possums. These unexpected outcomes resulted from complex indirect pathways in the food web. Fuzzy cognitive maps allow rapid construction of prototype models of complex food webs using a wide range of data and expert opinion. Their utility lies in providing direction for future monitoring efforts and generating hypotheses that can be tested with field experiments.     

Effects of intra‐ and inter‐specific competition on fitness of sweetpotato weevil and West Indian sweetpotato weevil

The sweetpotato weevil Cylas formicarius (Fabricius) (Coleoptera: Brentidae) and West Indian sweetpotato weevil Euscepes postfasciatus (Fairmaire) (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) are major pests of sweet potato Ipomoea batatas (L.) Lam., in tropical and subtropical regions. Effects of intra‐ and inter‐specific competition on the number of progeny (fecundity), body weight and developmental time of C. formicarius and E. postfasciatus were examined in single‐ and mixed‐species treatments under laboratory conditions. Cylas formicarius tended to outcompete E. postfasciatus, whereas E. postfasciatus rather than C. formicarius tolerated higher conspecific densities. We discuss the implications of the results for pest management and resource partitioning of pestiferous weevils.     

昆虫与其肠道菌群互作机理的研究进展及其在害虫管理中的应用前景

昆虫肠道中栖息着真菌、病毒、细菌、原生动物和古菌等种类繁多、数量庞大的微生物,总称为肠道微生物群。其中,细菌是最主要的类群,统称为肠道菌群。一方面,肠道菌群广泛参与了宿主昆虫的生长发育、免疫防御与器官稳态维持、抗药性的产生、逆境抗性和社会行为等众多关键生理过程。另一方面,昆虫的肠道免疫系统中有一套精细的调控机制来维持宿主与其肠道菌群之间的共生关系。高通量测序技术与组学技术的发展和应用极大地促进了对昆虫体内微生物群的结构与功能的认识和理解,并明显提高了人类对昆虫微生物资源的利用能力。本文综合介绍了关于昆虫肠道菌群的组成、功能及其与宿主互作机理等方面的研究现状,并在此基础上对昆虫耐受与调控其肠道菌群稳态的机理研究及其相关的应用前景进行了展望。     

The effectiveness of flower strips and hedgerows on pest control,pollination services and crop yield: a quantitative synthesis

Floral plantings are promoted to foster ecological intensification of agriculture through provisioning of ecosystem services. However, a comprehensive assessment of the effectiveness of different floral plantings, their characteristics and consequences for crop yield is lacking. Here we quantified the impacts of flower strips and hedgerows on pest control (18 studies) and pollination services (17 studies) in adjacent crops in North America, Europe and New Zealand. Flower strips, but not hedgerows, enhanced pest control services in adjacent fields by 16% on average. However, effects on crop pollination and yield were more variable. Our synthesis identifies several important drivers of variability in effectiveness of plantings: pollination services declined exponentially with distance from plantings, and perennial and older flower strips with higher flowering plant diversity enhanced pollination more effectively. These findings provide promising pathways to optimise floral plantings to more effectively contribute to ecosystem service delivery and ecological intensification of agriculture in the future.     

Single and combined effects of Drosophila suzukii and Drosophila melanogaster on sour rot development in viticulture

Sour rot is a disease complex that causes serious damage in viticulture. The common vinegar fly Drosophila melanogaster (Diptera: Drosophilidae) is associated with sour rot in overripe or otherwise damaged grapes. Drosophila suzukii (Diptera: Drosophilidae) is an invasive species, which is suspected to induce sour rot in previously undamaged grapes due to the flies' ability to infest healthy, undamaged soft fruits with its serrated ovipositor. As a consequence, infection of healthy grapes by D. suzukii may facilitate the colonization by D. melanogaster. We investigated the single and combined effects of D. suzukii and D. melanogaster on sour rot development by measuring volatile acidity under near-natural conditions in the vineyard, along with laboratory experiments under controlled climate. In 2017, the combined field and laboratory experiments suggested that the presence of D. suzukii and D. melanogaster increased the volatile acidity levels at a similar rate. In 2018, the field experiments showed an only marginal increase in sour rot development in treatments with both Drosophila species. Under more favourable laboratory conditions, the presence of D. suzukii, but not D. melanogaster triggered sour rot emergence. A facilitating effect of D. suzukii infestation for D. melanogaster was not detectable. These findings suggest that D. suzukii does in fact have the potential to trigger sour rot, but will probably rarely do so under field conditions in the vineyard, at least in the studied region. Instead, our study showed that D. melanogaster can have a similar impact on sour rot development as D. suzukii, emphasizing the need of comparative studies.     

Migration sources and pathways of the pest species Sogatella furcifera in Yunnan,China, and across the border inferred from DNA and wind analyses

The migration sources and pathways of Sogatella furcifera (Horváth) in topologically complex regions like Yunnan, China, and adjacent montane areas have long been a challenging task and a bottleneck in effective pest forecast and control. The present research reinvestigated this issue using a combination of mtDNA and long‐term historical wind field data in an attempt to provide new insights. Genetic analyses showed that the 60 populations of S. furcufera collected across Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, Yunnan, Guizhou, and Sichuan lack genetic structure and geographic isolation, while spatial analysis of haplotype and diversity indices discovered geographic relevance between populations. Migration rate analysis combined with high‐resolution 10‐year wind field analysis detected the following migration sources, pathways, and impacted areas which could explain the outbreak pattern in Yunnan. (a) Dominating stepwise northward migrations originated from northern Indochina, southern Yunnan, and central‐eastern Yunnan, impacting their northern areas. (b) Concurring summer–autumn southward (return) migration originated from nearly all latitude belts of Sichuan and Yunnan mainly impacting central and southern Yunnan. (c) Regular eastward and summer–autumn westward migrations across Yunnan. The northward migration reflects the temporal rhythm of gradual outbreaks from the south to the north in a year, while the return migration may explain the repeated or very severe outbreaks in the impacted areas. To form a better pest forecast and control network, attention must also be paid to the northern part of Yunnan to suppress the impact of return migration in summers and autumns.     

昆虫口腔分泌物效应子及其在害虫防治中基于RNAi技术的应用展望

昆虫口腔分泌物(oral secretion, OS),又称返吐液,是昆虫唾液腺分泌的唾液和肠道分泌物的混合液。昆虫取食寄主植物过程中,OS随之分泌至植物中,并影响植物的防御反应。RNA干扰(RNAinterference, RNAi)是研究昆虫基因功能有价值的反向遗传学工具,也是目前最有可能应用于害虫防治的新技术。本文主要综述了昆虫OS对寄主植物防御的影响、昆虫OS效应子的鉴定和OS效应子基于RNAi技术在害虫防治中可行性及应用前景。昆虫OS对寄主植物防御的影响主要表现为干扰植物的茉莉酸信号通路、筛管阻塞、Ca²⁺通路等防御反应,进而促进昆虫摄取食物。目前,昆虫OS效应子主要鉴定手段是通过昆虫唾液腺转录组分析和OS蛋白组分析;而已鉴定的OS效应子主要来源于刺吸式口器昆虫,在咀嚼式口器昆虫中的报道甚少;功能研究发现昆虫OS效应子在寄主植物中的表达会影响昆虫存活率、繁殖力和取食能力及昆虫和植物的其他重要生理指标,并通过鉴定OS效应子与植物防御机制的相互作用关系,进而证明OS效应子在昆虫与寄主植物关系中的重要性。基于RNAi技术,通过注射、饲喂和植物介导RNAi等方法在多种昆虫中产生了OS效应子基因下调和生长发育受影响的现象,由此说明OS效应子基因已具备作为RNAi靶标的条件。虽然目前研究尚处于实验室阶段,但已证明其应用于害虫防治方面具有一定的可行性。昆虫口腔分泌物是研究昆虫与寄主植物相互作用机制的新方向。最后,对OS未来潜在的研究方向进行了展望,以期对我国害虫防治的研究提供理论指导。     

A new biological method to control Anobium punctatum,by using the parasitoid wasp Spathius exarator

Biological pest control by means of beneficial organisms is for long part of agriculture and Integrated Pest Management (IPM). A new and efficient strategy to control the most common timber pest species in churches and museums, the furniture beetle Anobium punctatum (De Geer) (Coleoptera: Anobiidae), is based on the parasitoid wasp species Spathius exarator (Linnaeus) (Hymenoptera: Braconidae). Once this braconid wasp detects its host species beneath the surface, it pierces the wood with its ovipositor to lay one single egg onto the beetle larva. After hatching, the wasp larva feeds on the beetle larva thereby killing it. Afterwards, it pupates and emerges through a self-gnawed hole as an adult wasp. The tiny, 0.5-mm-wide exit hole can easily be distinguished from the 1- to 2-mm-wide exit hole of A. punctatum. Laboratory tests revealed that female wasps have an average life span of 85 days and produce a total of 24 offspring, when nutrition is provided. Between 2012 and 2019, braconid wasps were introduced into 54 different A. punctatum infested buildings. Treatment success was monitored by examining exit holes of new beetles and wasps thereby calculating corresponding parasitism rates. After the first year of treatment, parasitism rates were significantly higher with a mean value of 0.15 when compared to untreated objects with a natural parasitism and a mean value of 0.08 (n = 54). Following treatment of three objects over a period of eight years, parasitism rates continuously increased from 0.02 up to 0.31. In a church organ, which was treated during this period, the monitoring revealed a complete suppression of pest activity. These data prove that this biological method of pest control is an efficient, sustainable and non-toxic option to manage the common furniture beetle.     

Elevated rates of positive selection drive the evolution of pestiferousness in the Colorado potato beetle (Leptinotarsa decemlineata,Say)

Contextualizing evolutionary history and identifying genomic features of an insect that might contribute to its pest status is important in developing early detection and control tactics. In order to understand the evolution of pestiferousness, which we define as the accumulation of traits that contribute to an insect population's success in an agroecosystem, we tested the importance of known genomic properties associated with rapid adaptation in the Colorado potato beetle (CPB), Leptinotarsa decemlineata Say. Within the leaf beetle genus Leptinotarsa, only CPB, and a few populations therein, has risen to pest status on cultivated nightshades, Solanum. Using whole genomes from ten closely related Leptinotarsa species native to the United States, we reconstructed a high‐quality species tree and used this phylogenetic framework to assess evolutionary patterns in four genomic features of rapid adaptation: standing genetic variation, gene family expansion and contraction, transposable element abundance and location, and positive selection at protein‐coding genes. Throughout approximately 20 million years of history, Leptinotarsa species show little evidence of gene family turnover and transposable element variation. However, there is a clear pattern of CPB experiencing higher rates of positive selection on protein‐coding genes. We determine that these rates are associated with greater standing genetic variation due to larger effective population size, which supports the theory that the demographic history contributes to rates of protein evolution. Furthermore, we identify a suite of coding genes under positive selection that are putatively associated with pestiferousness in the Colorado potato beetle lineage. They are involved in the biological processes of xenobiotic detoxification, chemosensation and hormone function.