Project description:Spodoptera frugiperda is a notorious pest that feeds on more than 80 crops, and has spread over 100 countries. Many biological agents have been employed to regulate it, such as Arma custos. A. custos is a polyphagous predatory heteropteran, which can effectively suppress several agricultural and forest pests. Thus, in order to understand where A. custos can survive and where can be released, MaxEnt was used to predict the potentially suitable areas for A. custos in China under climate change conditions. The results show that the annual mean temperature (bio1) and annual precipitation (bio12) are the major factors influencing the distribution of A. custos. The optimal range of the two are 7.5 to 15 °C, 750 to 1200 mm, respectively. The current climate is highly suitable for A. custos in Hebei, Henan, Shandong, Anhui, Hubei, Jiangsu, and Zhejiang Provinces. Considering the currently suitable distribution area of S. frugiperda, artificially reared A. custos is suitable for release in Fujian, Zhejiang, Jiangxi, Hunan, and southeastern Sichuan Provinces. Under the future climatic scenarios, the suitable area will decrease and shift towards the north. Overall, this result can provide a reference framework for future application of A. custos for biological control.
Project description:We characterized the mitochondrial genome (mitogenome) and conducted phylogenetic analyses of 48 Hemiptera species by sequencing and analyzing the mitogenome of Arma custos (Fabricius) and Picromerus lewisi (Scott). The complete mitogenomes of the two predators were 16,024 bp and 19,587 bp in length, respectively, and it contained 37 classical genes, including 13 protein-coding genes (PCGs), 2 ribosomal RNA genes (rRNAs), and 22 transfer RNA genes (tRNAs), and a control region. Most PCGs in these predators use ATN as the start codon. This research revealed that the genes of the two natural enemy species have an A + T content of 75.40% and all tRNAs have a typical cloverleaf structure, with the exception of trnS1, which lacks a dihydrouridine arm. This is the first study to compare the mitochondrial genetic structure of two predatory insects; the mitochondrial genetic structure of individual predatory insects has been sequenced in previous studies. Here, phylogenetic analysis on the basis of amino acid and nucleotide sequences of 13 mitochondrial PCGs using Bayesian inference and maximum likelihood methods were conducted to generate similar tree topologies, which suggested that the two predators with close genetic relationships belong to Asopinae subfamily. Furthermore, the monophyly of the Pentatomoidea superfamily is well accepted despite limited taxon and species sampling. Finally, their complete mitogenome provided data to establish a predator-prey food web, which is the foundation of effective pest management. Our results also enhanced the database of natural enemy insects.