engleski

Novel methods for effective management of western corn rootworm

The western corn rootworm (WCR), is one of the most serious pests of maize in the United States and Europe. The main damage caused by WCR to maize plants is during its larval stage when it feeds on corn roots, which affects important physiological processes of the plant. The resulting damage leads to stalk lodging and yield losses, which in turn leads to economic damage to maize crops. To control WCR, insecticides are often used. However, insect resistance to pesticides is a serious and growing problem in agricultural production systems globally. Like many insects, WCR has developed resistance to insecticides and other established management and control strategies over time. Therefore, there is a need to explore and apply new methods (such as single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and geometric morphometrics (GM)) in the early detection of resistance or adaptations leading to WCR resistance, before resistance become widespread. SNPs have become an affordable and easily accessible means to generate large amounts of genomic data for a species. Using SNPs, a low- cost, high-throughput marker genotyping platform, we can analyze genomic data from populations to understand the movement patterns of WCR at small (within populations) and large (between populations) geographic scales. GM, that uses phenotypic size and shape analysis, is a technique that can be used to reveal differences in hindwing shape and size among populations of the rootworm. Similar to SNPs that are a genetic biomarker, GM can be used a phenotypic population biomarker. In my presentation I will describe how combining genetic and geometric morphometrics could result in a reliable biomarker that can be used to reveal differences among WCR populations. I will discuss how both markers can be used for resistance detection as part of a larger integrated resistance management strategy for WCR.

diabrotica virgifera virgifera ; maize ; resistance ; monitoring techniques

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