Project description:The Panel on Plant Health performed a pest categorisation of Popillia japonica (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae) for the EU. P. japonica is a distinguishable species listed in Annex IAII of Council Directive 2000/29/EC. It is native to Japan but established in the USA in the early 20th century. It spreads from New Jersey to most US states east of the Mississippi, some to the west and north into Canada. P. japonica feeds on over 700 plant species. Adults attack foliage and fruit surfaces. They can cause serious injury to tree fruits and soft fruit, vegetable crops, ornamental herbaceous plants, shrubs, vines and trees. Larvae are root feeders regarded as serious pests of lawns and turf, vegetables and nursery stock. Adults emerge during the summer and can fly short distances on warm sunny days. The life cycle is usually completed in one year. In cooler regions, development takes two years. P. japonica occurs in the EU in the Azores (Portugal), Lombardy and Piedmont (Italy) where it is under official control. Adults are suspected of being able to spread on aircraft as hitchhikers, i.e. without host plants. Soil accompanying plants for planting provides a pathway for further introductions. Hosts are widely available within the EU. Climatic conditions across central and parts of southern EU are suitable for development in one year. Across parts of northern Europe development over two years is likely. Without control, impacts could be expected on a range of plants. Phytosanitary measures are available to reduce the likelihood of introduction of P. japonica. All criteria assessed by EFSA for consideration as a potential Union quarantine pest are met. Plants for planting are not necessarily the main means of spread so P. japonica does not satisfy all criteria necessary for it to be regarded as a Union regulated non-quarantine pest (RNQP).
Project description:To reveal transcriptome dynamics during adventitious root formation in a coniferous tree, C. japonica, we conducted custom microarry experiments. Three parts from cuttings of easy-to-root clone of C. japonica were collected at eight time points during adventitious root formation. The results revealed major turning points on transcriptome toward adventitious root formation and the expression behavior of genes related to carbohydrate, plant hormone and others suggested the important biological changes for adventitious root formation.
Project description:Popillia japonica (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae), is an emerging invasive pest in Europe and America. In the Azores, this pest was first found on Terceira Island during the sixties and soon spread to other islands. The rate of infestation differs between islands, and we hypothesized that microbiome composition could play a role. Therefore, we sampled 3rd instar larvae and soil from sites with high and low infestation rates to analyze the microbiome using next-generation sequencing. We analyzed twenty-four 16S DNA libraries, which resulted in 3278 operational taxonomic units. The alpha and beta diversity of the soil microbiome was similar between sites. In contrast, the larvae from high-density sites presented a higher bacterial gut diversity than larvae from low-density sites, with biomarkers linked to plant digestion, nutrient acquisition, and detoxification. Consequently, larvae from high-density sites displayed several enriched molecular functions associated with the families Ruminococcaceae, Clostridiaceae and Rikenellaceae. These bacteria revealed a supportive function by producing several CAZyme families and other proteins. These findings suggest that the microbiome must be one drive for the increase in P. japonica populations, thus providing a checkpoint in the establishment and spread of this pest.