Spodoptera frugiperda, the fall armyworm, causes major damage to maize and >80 other crops worldwide. Since S. frugiperda successfully invaded China in 2018 via long-distance migration from Myanmar, ...it has caused major maize yield losses and posed a severe threat to maize production and food security. The biocontrol approach for S. frugiperda using natural enemies is environmentally safe and effective. Estimating the potential suitable area (PSA) for S. frugiperda and its natural enemies can provide insights for its biocontrol and management. Therefore, based on the global distribution records and bioclimatic variables, we modeled the PSA of S. frugiperda and three egg parasitoids in China using an ensemble model (EM). We found that the prediction results of the EM were more reliable than those of a single model. The PSAs of S. frugiperda and its three egg parasitoids were mainly attributed to temperature variables. The PSA of S. frugiperda was divided into migratory and overwintering areas using the mean January 10 °C isotherm from 2018 to 2022. In the overwintering area, Trichogramma chilonis had the largest PSA overlap with S. frugiperda (94.57 %), followed by Telenomus remus (68.64 %) and Trichogramma dendrolimi (67.53 %). Telenomus remus and Tr. chilonis were the most effective egg parasitoids against S. frugiperda in the overwintering area. In the migratory area, Tr. chilonis had the largest PSA overlap with S. frugiperda (91.36 %), followed by Tr. dendrolimi (81.70 %) and Te. remus (15.23 %). Trichogramma dendrolimi would be the most effective egg parasitoid against S. frugiperda in the Yangtze River Basin and northeastern China. Trichogramma chilonis was the most effective egg parasitoid against S. frugiperda in central China. Our findings indicate that the three native egg parasitoids would be “good regulators” of S. frugiperda outbreaks in China.
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•Temperature variables shape the geographical distributions of the study species.•Telenomus remus and Trichogramma chilonis would be effective in southern China.•Trichogramma dendrolimi would be effective in the central and northeastern China.•The three native egg parasitoids would be “good regulators” of fall armyworm outbreaks.
The codling moth Cydia pomonella, a major invasive pest of pome fruit, has spread around the globe in the last half century. We generated a chromosome-level scaffold assembly including the Z ...chromosome and a portion of the W chromosome. This assembly reveals the duplication of an olfactory receptor gene (OR3), which we demonstrate enhances the ability of C. pomonella to exploit kairomones and pheromones in locating both host plants and mates. Genome-wide association studies contrasting insecticide-resistant and susceptible strains identify hundreds of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) potentially associated with insecticide resistance, including three SNPs found in the promoter of CYP6B2. RNAi knockdown of CYP6B2 increases C. pomonella sensitivity to two insecticides, deltamethrin and azinphos methyl. The high-quality genome assembly of C. pomonella informs the genetic basis of its invasiveness, suggesting the codling moth has distinctive capabilities and adaptive potential that may explain its worldwide expansion.
General odorant-binding proteins (GOBPs) play a crucial role in the detection of host plant volatiles and pheromones by lepidopterans. Previous studies identified two duplications in the
gene in
. In ...this study, we employed qRT-PCR, protein purification, and fluorescence competitive binding assays to investigate the functions of three
genes in
. Our findings reveal that
and
are specifically highly expressed in antennae, while
exhibits high specific expression in wings, suggesting a potential divergence in their functions. Recombinant proteins of CpomGOBP2a, CpomGOBP2b, and CpomGOBP2c were successfully expressed and purified, enabling an in-depth exploration of their functions. Competitive binding assays with 20 host plant volatiles and the sex pheromone (codlemone) demonstrated that CpomGOBP2a exhibits strong binding to four compounds, namely butyl octanoate, ethyl (
,
)-deca-2,4-dienoate (pear ester), codlemone, and geranylacetone, with corresponding dissolution constants (Ki) of 8.59993 μM, 9.14704 μM, 22.66298 μM, and 22.86923 μM, respectively. CpomGOBP2b showed specific binding to pear ester (Ki = 17.37481 μM), while CpomGOBP2c did not exhibit binding to any tested compounds. In conclusion, our results indicate a functional divergence among
,
, and
. These findings contribute valuable insights for the development of novel prevention and control technologies and enhance our understanding of the evolutionary mechanisms of olfactory genes in
.
A. Gray, an ornamental submerged plant indigenous to tropical America, has been introduced to numerous countries in Europe, Asia, and Oceania, impacting native aquatic ecosystems. Given this species ...is a popular aquarium plant and widely traded, there is a high risk of introduction and invasion into other environments. In the current study the potential global geographic distribution of
was predicted under the effects of climate change and human influence in an optimised MaxEnt model. The model used rigorously screened occurrence records of
from hydro informatic datasets and 20 associated influencing factors. The findings indicate that temperature and human-mediated activities significantly influenced the distribution of
. At present,
covers an area of approximately 1531×10
km
of appropriate habitat, especially in the south-eastern parts of South, central and North America, Southeast Asia, eastern Australia, and most of Europe. The suitable regions are anticipated to expand under future climate scenarios; however, the dynamics of the changes vary between different extents of climate change. For example,
is expected to expand to higher latitudes, following global temperature increases under SSP1-2.6 and SSP2-4.5 scenarios, however, intolerance to temperature extremes may mediate invasion at higher latitudes under future extreme climate scenarios, e.g., SSP5-8.5. Owing to the severe impacts its invasion causes, early warning and stringent border quarantine processes are required to guard against the introduction of
especially in the invasion hotspots such as, Peru, Italy, and South Korea.
The establishment of invasive alien plants (IAPs) is primarily driven by climate warming and human activities, and their populations have a negative impact on agricultural economics, ecological ...systems, and human health.
and
are critical IAPs in China because they reduce the quality of cereal grains and decrease wheat yields.
is a winter-temperate weed that spreads easily and is poisonous to humans and animals.
is resistant to herbicides, has a high reproductive rate, and frequently grows in wheat. Both species have been listed in the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs of the People's Republic of China's management catalog since 2006.
In the present study, the historical occurrence and invasion of each species were collected and reconstructed, which showed that the population outbreak of
began in 2010, whereas that of
began in 2000. Using the optimal MaxEnt model, the geographical distributions of
and
were predicted based on screened species occurrences and environmental variables under the current and three future scenarios in the 2030s and 2050s (i.e., SSP1-2.6, SSP2-4.5, and SSP5-8.5).
The mean AUC values were 0.867 and 0.931 for
and
, respectively. Human influence index (HII), mean temperature of coldest quarter (bio11), and precipitation of coldest quarter (bio19) were the most significant variables for
, whereas human influence index, temperature seasonality (standard deviation×100) (bio4), and annual mean temperature (bio1) were the critical environmental variables for
Suitable habitat areas in China for
and
currently covered total areas of 125 × 10
and 235 × 10
km
, respectively. Future suitable areas of
reached the maximum under SSP2-4.5, from 2021 to 2060, whereas for
they reached the maximum under SSP5-8.5, from 2021 to 2060. Furthermore, the overlap area under the current climate conditions for
and
was approximately 90 × 10
km
, mainly located in Hubei, Anhui, Jiangsu, Shandong, Henan, Shaanxi, Shanxi, and Hebei. The overlap areas decreased in the 2030s, increased in the 2050s, and reached a maximum under SSP1-2.6 (or SSP2-4.5) with an approximate area of 104 × 10
km
. The centroid of
in Henan was transferred to the southwest, whereas for
it transferred to higher latitudes in the northeast.
Our findings provide a practical reference for the early warning, control, and management of these two destructive IAP populations in China.
Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) have emerged as an important class of transcriptional regulators in cellular processes. The past decades have witnessed great progress in lncRNA studies in a variety of ...organisms. The codling moth (Cydia pomonella L.) is an important invasive insect in China. However, the functional impact of lncRNAs in this insect remains unclear. In this study, an atlas of codling moth lncRNAs was constructed based on publicly available RNA-seq datasets.
In total, 9875 lncRNA transcripts encoded by 9161 loci were identified in the codling moth. As expected, the lncRNAs exhibited shorter transcript lengths, lower GC contents, and lower expression levels than protein-coding genes (PCGs). Additionally, the lncRNAs were more likely to show tissue-specific expression patterns than PCGs. Interestingly, a substantial fraction of the lncRNAs showed a testis-biased expression pattern. Additionally, conservation analysis indicated that lncRNA sequences were weakly conserved across insect species, though additional lncRNAs with homologous relationships could be identified based on synteny, suggesting that synteny could be a more reliable approach for the cross-species comparison of lncRNAs. Furthermore, the correlation analysis of lncRNAs with neighbouring PCGs indicated a stronger correlation between them, suggesting potential cis-acting roles of these lncRNAs in the regulation of gene expression.
Taken together, our work provides a valuable resource for the comparative and functional study of lncRNAs, which will facilitate the understanding of their mechanistic roles in transcriptional regulation.
Insects have evolved effectors to regulate host defenses for efficient feeding, yet their impact on chewing insects, like the tomato leaf miner (Phthorimaea absoluta), a significant pest, is poorly ...understood. We used RNAi to target the REPAT38 gene in larvae, monitoring changes at 0.5, 1, 2, and 4 h in leaf stomata, plant hormone concentrations (jasmonic acid (JA), jasmonoyl-L-isoleucine (JA-Ile), salicylic acid (SA), ethylene (ET), and abscisic acid (ABA)), and 12 hormone-responsive genes to explore the molecular mechanism of REPAT38-mediated plant-insect interactions. The results showed that the effector induced stomatal closure at 0.5 h and inhibited the synthesis of JA, ET, and ABA at 1 h. Additionally, seven plant hormone-responsive genes—AOC, MYC2, ACS1A, PAL, PR1, EIL2, and SRK2E—were inhibited at various time points. Our data suggest that REPAT38, as an effector with conserved functions, can weaken tomato host defenses and conducive to insect adaptation to host plants.
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•REPAT38 induces stomatal closure•REPAT38 inhibits the synthesis of JA, ET, and ABA•REPAT38 inhibits the expression of plant hormone-responsive genes•REPAT38 acts as an effector to weaken host plant defense
Molecular biology; Plant biology; Plant cytology
Bemisia tabaci is an important invasive pest with worldwide distribution and strong temperature tolerance. Previous studies have shown that temperature tolerance varies significantly between the ...different invasive populations. Several key factors involved in epigenetic regulation have been identified and verified in B. tabaci; therefore, epigenetic adaptation mechanisms may also exist. This study aimed to detect changes in the chromatin accessibility landscape and genome-wide transcriptome under different temperature stresses in B. tabaci. Assay for transposase-accessible chromatin with high-throughput sequencing and RNA-seq analyses indicated that transcriptional activity of the genes strongly correlates with chromatin accessibility. Chromatin transcription-activated gene expression regulation is dominant during high-temperature stress in B. tabaci, mainly through the transcriptional repression of genes related to low-temperature stress resistance. Furthermore, B. tabaci resists low-temperature stress by regulating enzyme activities and withstands high-temperature stress by regulating metabolism and synthesis of organic substances, both achieved by altering chromatin accessibility. In summary, this study provides a theoretical basis for exploring changes in gene expression and chromatin accessibility under different temperature stresses, offering a new approach to unravelling regulatory mechanisms underlying the onset of molecular regulation in response to various temperature stress conditions.
Invasive alien insects directly or indirectly driven by climate change threaten crop production and increase economic costs worldwide. Ectomyelois ceratoniae (Zeller) is a highly reproductive ...invasive crop insect that can severely damage fruit commodities and cause significant economic losses globally. Estimating the global potentially suitable habitats (PSH) of E. ceratoniae is an important aspect of its invasive risk assessment and early warning. Here, we constructed an optimized MaxEnt model based on the global distribution records of E. ceratoniae, and nine environmental variables (EVs), to predict its global PSH under current and future climates. Our results showed that the RM value was 2.0 and the mean area under receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) value was 0.972, indicating the high accuracy of the optimal MaxEnt model. The mean temperature of driest quarter (bio9, 50.2%), mean temperature of wettest quarter (bio8, 16.9%), temperature seasonality (bio4, 9.7%), and precipitation of coldest quarter (bio19, 9.1%) were the significant EVs affecting its distribution patterns. The global PSH of E. ceratoniae are mainly located in western Asia under current climate scenarios (687.57 × 104 km2), which showed an increasing trend under future climate scenarios. The PSH of E. ceratoniae achieved the maximum under the shared socioeconomic pathway (SSP) 1–2.6 in the 2030s and under the SSP2-4.5 in the 2050s. The increased PSH of E. ceratoniae are mainly located in southwestern Asia, northwestern Europe, northwestern South America, northwestern North America, southern Oceania, and northwestern Africa. Our findings suggest that quarantine officials and governmental departments in the above high-risk invasion areas should strengthen monitoring and early warning to control E. ceratoniae; in particular, cultural measures should be taken in areas where its further expansion is expected in the future.
The Mediterranean fruit fly,
(Wiedemann), which is native to tropical Africa, has invaded more than 100 countries and constitutes a risk to the citrus sector. Studying its potential geographical ...distribution (PGD) in the context of global climate change is important for prevention and control efforts worldwide. Therefore, we used the CLIMEX model to project and assess the risk of global invasion by
under current (1981-2010) and future (2040-2059) climates. In the prevailing climatic conditions, the area of PGD for
was approximately 664.8 × 10
km
and was concentrated in South America, southern Africa, southern North America, eastern Asia, and southern Europe. Under future climate conditions, the area of PGD for
is projected to decrease to approximately 544.1 × 10
km
and shift to higher latitudes. Cold stress was shown to affect distribution at high latitudes, and heat stress was the main factor affecting distribution under current and future climates. According to the predicted results, countries with highly suitable habitats for
that have not yet been invaded, such as China, Myanmar, and Vietnam, must strengthen quarantine measures to prevent the introduction of this pest.
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