Project POLYADAPT: Molecular-genetic mechanisms of extreme adaptation in a polyphagous agricultural pest
2018-06-01 – 2023-11-30
- Abstract
Generalist (polyphagous) herbivores can feed and reproduce on many different plant species and include some of the most pesticide resistant and notorious pests in agriculture. An evolutionary link between host plant range and the development of pesticide resistance has been suggested. Although crucial for devising efficient crop protection strategies, the mechanisms underlying rapid adaptation are not well understood, especially in generalists. The spider mite Tetranychus urticae is a global pest known to feed on 1,100 different hosts from 140 plant families, including most major crops. With experimental advances and new tools developed for T. urticae, we are now poised for fundamental advances in understanding the molecular genetic make-up of adaption in generalist pests. We will generate a large collection of fully inbred and resistant mite strains and describe the sampled genomic variation in the context of selection and adaptation. We will study gene regulation mechanisms and quantify cis versus trans regulation of gene expression on a genome wide scale. We will then create a unique population resource that will allow us to map master regulators of gene expression and construct a gene-regulatory network of adaptation responsive genes. In a highly replicated experimental evolution study, combined with Bulk Segregant Analysis (BSA), we will uncover, without a prior hypothesis, the genomic loci that underlie complex cases of resistance and plant adaptation. A core set of adaptation genes will be validated by functional expression and high-throughput interaction assays. Further validation will come from the development of genome editing tools. In summary, POLYADAPT will exploit the genomic tools now available for spider mites to elucidate regulatory and causal variants underlying the extreme adaptation potential of polyphagous pests. This will in the long term lead to innovative methods of pest management.
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Independent genetic mapping experiments identify diverse molecular determinants of host adaptation in a generalist herbivore
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- Journal Article
- A1
- open access
The role of ATP-binding cassette transporters in arthropod pesticide toxicity and resistance
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- Journal Article
- A1
- open access
A novel target-site mutation (H146Q) outside the ubiquinone binding site of succinate dehydrogenase confers high levels of resistance to cyflumetofen and pyflubumide in Tetranychus urticae
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- Journal Article
- A1
- open access
Identification and CRISPR-Cas9 validation of a novel β-adrenergic-like octopamine receptor mutation associated with amitraz resistance in Varroa destructor
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- Journal Article
- A1
- open access
Adaptation of an arthropod predator to a challenging environment is associated with a loss of a genome-wide plastic transcriptional response
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- Journal Article
- A1
- open access
SYNCAS : efficient CRISPR/Cas9 gene-editing in difficult to transform arthropods
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- Journal Article
- A1
- open access
Contrasting roles of cytochrome P450s in amitraz and chlorfenapyr resistance in the crop pest Tetranychus urticae
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- Journal Article
- A1
- open access
A glutamate-gated chloride channel as the mite-specific target-site of dicofol and other diphenylcarbinol acaricides
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- Journal Article
- A1
- open access
Molecular mechanisms of resistance to spirodiclofen and spiromesifen in Tetranychus urticae
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- Journal Article
- A1
- open access
The host plant strongly modulates acaricide resistance levels to mitochondrial complex II inhibitors in a multi-resistant field population of Tetranychus urticae