Dataset Information

A major forest insect pest, the pine weevil Hylobius abietis, is more susceptible to Diptera- than Coleoptera-targeted Bacillus thuringiensis strains.

ABSTRACT:

Background

The pine weevil (Hylobius abietis) is a major forest regeneration pest causing high levels of seedling mortality and economic losses. Current management relies on silviculture, stem coatings and insecticides. Here we evaluated for the first time the effects of Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) strains on H. abietis adults: two producing the Coleoptera-targeted toxins Cry3Aa (Bt tenebrionis NB-176) and Cry8Da (Bt galleriae SDS-502), and one producing the Diptera-targeted Cry10A (Bt israelensis AM65-52). Choice and nonchoice assays using individual and mixtures of Bt formulations, containing these strains respectively, were conducted.

Results

We found that Bt had toxic and lethal effects on H. abietis, but effects varied with strain and formulation concentration. The Diptera-targeted Bt israelensis had the most negative effects on weevil weight, feeding and mortality (70-82% feeding reduction, 65-82% greater mortality than control), whereas the effect was lower for the Coleoptera-specific Bt tenebrionis (38-42%; 37-42%) and Bt galleriae (11-30%; 15-32%). Reduced weevil feeding was observed after 3?days, and the highest mortality occurred 7-14?days following Bt exposure. However, we found no synergistic toxic effects, and no formulation combination was better than Bt israelensis alone at reducing consumption and survival. Also, pine weevils were not deterred by Bt, feeding equally on Bt-treated and non-Bt treated food.

Conclusion

There is potential to develop forest pest management measures against H. abietis that include Bt, but only the Diptera-targeted Bt israelensis would provide effective seedling protection. Its Diptera-specificity may need reconsideration, and evaluation of other Bt strains/toxins against H. abietis would be of interest. © 2020 The Authors. Pest Management Science published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Society of Chemical Industry.

SUBMITTER: Tudoran A

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7894551 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Publications

A major forest insect pest, the pine weevil Hylobius abietis, is more susceptible to Diptera- than Coleoptera-targeted Bacillus thuringiensis strains.

Tudoran Amelia A Nordlander Göran G Karlberg Anna A Puentes Adriana A

Pest management science 20201102 3

<h4>Background</h4>The pine weevil (Hylobius abietis) is a major forest regeneration pest causing high levels of seedling mortality and economic losses. Current management relies on silviculture, stem coatings and insecticides. Here we evaluated for the first time the effects of Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) strains on H. abietis adults: two producing the Coleoptera-targeted toxins Cry3Aa (Bt tenebrionis NB-176) and Cry8Da (Bt galleriae SDS-502), and one producing the Diptera-targeted Cry10A (Bt i ...[more]

PMID: 33078548

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Project description:BackgroundDuring their lifetime, conifer trees are exposed to numerous herbivorous insects. To protect themselves against pests, trees have developed a broad repertoire of protective mechanisms. Many of the plant's defence reactions are activated upon an insect attack, and the underlying regulatory mechanisms are not entirely understood yet, in particular in conifer trees. Here, we present the results of our studies on the transcriptional response and the volatile compounds production of Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris) upon the large pine weevil (Hylobius abietis) feeding.ResultsTranscriptional response of Scots pine to the weevil attack was investigated using a novel customised 36.4 K Pinus taeda microarray. The weevil feeding caused large-scale changes in the pine transcriptome. In total, 774 genes were significantly up-regulated more than 4-fold (p≤0.05), whereas 64 genes were significantly down-regulated more than 4-fold. Among the up-regulated genes, we could identify genes involved in signal perception, signalling pathways, transcriptional regulation, plant hormone homeostasis, secondary metabolism and defence responses. The weevil feeding on stem bark of pine significantly increased the total emission of volatile organic compounds from the undamaged stem bark area. The emission levels of monoterpenes and sesquiterpenes were also increased. Interestingly, we could not observe any correlation between the increased production of the terpenoid compounds and expression levels of the terpene synthase-encoding genes.ConclusionsThe obtained data provide an important insight into the transcriptional response of conifer trees to insect herbivory and illustrate the massive changes in the host transcriptome upon insect attacks. Moreover, many of the induced pathways are common between conifers and angiosperms. The presented results are the first ones obtained by the use of a microarray platform with an extended coverage of pine transcriptome (36.4 K cDNA elements). The platform will further facilitate the identification of resistance markers with the direct relevance for conifer tree breeding.

Dataset Information

A major forest insect pest, the pine weevil Hylobius abietis, is more susceptible to Diptera- than Coleoptera-targeted Bacillus thuringiensis strains.

Background

Results

Conclusion

Publications

A major forest insect pest, the pine weevil Hylobius abietis, is more susceptible to Diptera- than Coleoptera-targeted Bacillus thuringiensis strains.

Similar Datasets

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