Cross‐protection interactions in insect pests: Implications for pest management in a changing climate

Abstract

Agricultural insect pests display an exceptional ability to adapt quickly to natural and anthropogenic stressors. Emerging evidence suggests that frequent and varied sources of stress play an important role in driving protective physiological responses; therefore, intensively managed agroecosystems combined with climatic shifts might be an ideal crucible for stress adaptation. Cross‐protection, where responses to one stressor offers protection against another type of stressor, has been well documented in many insect species, yet the molecular and epigenetic underpinnings that drive overlapping protective responses in insect pests remain unclear. In this perspective, we discuss cross‐protection mechanisms and provide an argument for its potential role in increasing tolerance to a wide range of natural and anthropogenic stressors in agricultural insect pests. By drawing from existing literature on single and multiple stressor studies, we outline the processes that facilitate cross‐protective interactions, including epigenetic modifications, which are understudied in insect stress responses. Finally, we discuss the implications of cross‐protection for insect pest management, focusing on the consequences of cross‐protection between insecticides and elevated temperatures associated with climate change. Given the multiple ways that insect pests are intensively managed in agroecosystems, we suggest that examining the role of multiple stressors can be important in understanding the wide adaptability of agricultural insect pests. © 2022 The Authors. Pest Management Science published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Society of Chemical Industry.

The mechanistic basis and adaptive significance of cross-tolerance: a ‘pre-adaptation’ to a changing world?

“…Cross-protection (encompassing both cross-tolerance and crosstalk) has been documented across a wide diversity of taxa, from the bacteria, fungi, plant and animal kingdoms (Brown et al, 2014;Bueno et al, 2023;Foyer et al, 2016;Hula et al, 2022;Rodgers and Gomez Isaza, 2021). In the animal kingdom alone, cross-protection has been documented in over 50 species, spanning insects, arthropods, fishes, amphibians, birds and mammals from a diversity of habitats (e.g.…”

Changes in the Biology and Susceptibility of Weevil (Cylas formicarius) to the Insecticide Spinetoram as a Response to Cadmium Contamination

“…Heavy metal exposure can affect susceptibility of organisms to other stressors [ 57 , 58 ]. For example, heavy metal exposure may increase insect susceptibility to entomopathogenic microorganisms [ 27 ].…”

Drosophila X virus‐like particles as delivery carriers for improved oral insecticidal efficacy of scorpion Androctonus australis peptide against the invasive fruit fly, Drosophila suzukii

“…, 2017; Xue et al. , 2023a). The feasibility of VLPs for the delivery of viral antigens and drugs has been extensively demonstrated in mammals (Garcea & Gissmann, 2004), for which especially plant virus‐derived VLPs are used because of lower pre‐existing immunity in mammals (Ma et al.…”