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Quantitative analysis of fitness costs associated with the development of resistance to the Bt toxin Cry1Ac in Helicoverpa armigera.

ABSTRACT: Transgenic Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) crops play an increasing role in pest control, and resistance management is a major issue in large-scale cultivation of Bt crops. The fitness cost of resistance in targeted pests is considered to be one of the main factors delaying resistance when using the refuge strategy. By comparing 10 resistant Helicoverpa armigera (Hubner) strains, showing various resistance levels to Bt toxin (Cry1Ac), to a susceptible strain, we showed an increasing fitness cost corresponding with increasing levels of resistance. The relationship between overall fitness cost C and the resistance ratio Rr could be described by C = 24.47/(1 + exp([1.57 - Log10Rr]/0.2)). This model predicted that the maximum overall fitness cost would be ~24% (± 5.22) in the strains with the highest resistance level. The overall fitness cost was closely linked to egg hatching rate, fecundity, emergence rate, larval survival rate, and developmental duration of adults. Among fitness components measured, fecundity was the most sensitive trait linked to the resistance selection. To integrate the results into simulation models would be valuable in evaluating how variation in fitness cost may influence the development of resistance in pest populations, thus helping to develop enhanced refuge strategies.

SUBMITTER: Cao G

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4088062 | biostudies-literature | 2014

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Project description:Evolution of resistance by insect pests reduces the benefits of extensively cultivated transgenic crops that produce insecticidal proteins from Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt). Previous work showed that resistance to Bt toxin Cry1Ac, which is produced by transgenic cotton, can be conferred by mutations disrupting a cadherin protein that binds this Bt toxin in the larval midgut. However, the potential for epistatic interactions between the cadherin gene and other genes has received little attention. Here, we report evidence of epistasis conferring resistance to Cry1Ac in the cotton bollworm, Helicoverpa armigera, one of the world's most devastating crop pests. Resistance to Cry1Ac in strain LF256 originated from a field-captured male and was autosomal, recessive, and 220-fold relative to susceptible strain SCD. We conducted complementation tests for allelism by crossing LF256 with a strain in which resistance to Cry1Ac is conferred by a recessive allele at the cadherin locus HaCad. The resulting F1 offspring were resistant, suggesting that resistance to Cry1Ac in LF256 is also conferred by resistance alleles at this locus. However, the HaCad amino acid sequence in LF256 lacked insertions and deletions, and did not differ consistently between LF256 and a susceptible strain. In addition, most of the cadherin alleles in LF256 were not derived from the field-captured male. Moreover, Cry1Ac resistance was not genetically linked with the HaCad locus in LF256. Furthermore, LF256 and the susceptible strain were similar in levels of HaCad transcript, cadherin protein, and binding of Cry1Ac to cadherin. Overall, the results imply that epistasis between HaCad and an unknown second locus in LF256 yielded the observed resistance in the F1 progeny from the complementation test. The observed epistasis has important implications for interpreting results of the F1 screen used widely to monitor and analyze resistance, as well as the potential to accelerate evolution of resistance.

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Quantitative analysis of fitness costs associated with the development of resistance to the Bt toxin Cry1Ac in Helicoverpa armigera.

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