Genetics of wild and mass-reared populations of a generalist aphid parasitoid and improvement of biological control

Postic, Estelle; Outreman, Yannick; Derocles, Stéphane A. P.; Granado, C.; Ralec, Anne Le

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0249893

Cited by 9 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 59 publications

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“…It is common that natural enemies that were never deployed by the grower establish themselves in a greenhouse (e.g. Bosco et al, 2008 ; Gavkare et al, 2014 ; Postic et al, 2021 ). It has been shown that the presence of both specialist and generalist parasitoids can stabilize biological control (Raymond et al, 2016 ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Do aphids in Dutch sweet pepper greenhouses carry heritable elements that protect them against biocontrol parasitoids?

Beekman

Donner

Litjens

et al. 2022

Evolutionary Applications

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Biological control (biocontrol) of crop pests is a sustainable alternative to the use of biodiversity and organismal health‐harming chemical pesticides. Aphids can be biologically controlled with parasitoid wasps; however, variable results of parasitoid‐based aphid biocontrol in greenhouses are reported. Aphids may display genetically encoded (endogenous) defences that increase aphid resistance against parasitoids as under high parasitoid pressure there will be selection for parasitoid‐resistant aphids, potentially affecting the success of parasitoid‐based aphid biocontrol in greenhouses. Additionally, aphids may carry secondary bacterial endosymbionts that protect them against parasitoids. We studied whether there is variation in either of these heritable elements in aphids in greenhouses of sweet pepper, an agro‐economically important crop in the Netherlands that is prone to aphid pests and where pest management heavily relies on biocontrol. We sampled aphid populations in organic (biocontrol only) and conventional (biocontrol and pesticides) sweet pepper greenhouses in the Netherlands during the 2019 crop growth season. We assessed the aphid microbiome through both diagnostic PCR and 16S rRNA sequencing and did not detect any secondary endosymbionts in the two most encountered aphid species, Myzus persicae and Aulacorthum solani. We also compared multiple aphid lines collected from different greenhouses for variation in levels of endogenous‐based resistance against the parasitoids commonly used as biocontrol agents. We found no differences in the levels of endogenous‐based resistance between different aphid lines. This study does not support the hypothesis that protective endosymbionts or the presence of endogenous resistant aphid lines affects the success of parasitoid‐based biocontrol of aphids in Dutch greenhouses. Future investigations will need to address what is causing the variable successes of aphid biocontrol and what (biological and management‐related) lessons can be learned for aphid control in other crops, and biocontrol in general.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Do aphids in Dutch sweet pepper greenhouses carry heritable elements that protect them against biocontrol parasitoids?

Beekman

Donner

Litjens

et al. 2022

Evolutionary Applications

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“…Until now, only Aphidius microlophii Pennacchio and Tremblay has been split from A. ervi and described as a specialized parasitoid of Microlophium carnosum (Buckton), associated with Urtica spp., which are common in cultivated areas [95,96]. Molecular markers did not support any significant differentiation within the "ervi" complex [97]. This issue should be further investigated with more robust taxonomic and geographic samples.…”

Section: Species Complexesmentioning

confidence: 97%

Cereal Aphid Parasitoids in Europe (Hymenoptera: Braconidae: Aphidiinae): Taxonomy, Biodiversity, and Ecology

Tomanović

Kavallieratos

et al. 2022

Insects

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Cereals are very common and widespread crops in Europe. Aphids are a diverse group of herbivorous pests on cereals and one of the most important limiting factors of cereal production. Here, we present an overview of knowledge about the taxonomy, biodiversity, and ecology of cereal aphid parasitoids in Europe, an important group of natural enemies contributing to cereal aphid control. We review the knowledge obtained from the integrative taxonomy of 26 cereal aphid primary parasitoid species, including two allochthonous species (Lysiphlebus testaceipes and Trioxys sunnysidensis) and two recently described species (Lipolexis labialis and Paralipsis brachycaudi). We further review 28 hyperparasitoid species belonging to three hymenopteran superfamilies and four families (Ceraphronoidea: Megaspillidae; Chalcidoidea: Pteromalidae, Encyrtidae; Cynipoidea: Figitidae). We also compile knowledge on the presence of secondary endosymbionts in cereal aphids, as these are expected to influence the community composition and biocontrol efficiency of cereal aphid parasitoids. To study aphid–parasitoid–hyperparasitoid food webs more effectively, we present two kinds of DNA-based approach: (i) diagnostic PCR (mainly multiplex PCR), and (ii) DNA sequence-based methods. Finally, we also review the effects of landscape complexity on the different trophic levels in the food webs of cereal aphids and their associated parasitoids, as well as the impacts of agricultural practices and environmental variation.

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“…Nevertheless, the amount of genetic variation for biological control traits is currently poorly investigated and remains largely unknown (Ferguson, 2020; Lirakis & Magalhães, 2019; Wajnberg, 2004). Only 2.4% of the studies investigating genetics of biocontrol traits reported information on genetic variation (e.g., Postic et al, 2021). Characterizing the genetic architecture of biocontrol traits is important because the success of artificial selection often depends on the number and location of the loci involved, and their interactions such as dominance, epistasis, and pleiotropy (Leung et al, 2020).…”

Section: Human Manipulations Of Evolution: Genetic and Evolutionary A...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Biological control needs evolutionary perspectives of ecological interactions

Sentis

Hemptinne

Margo

et al. 2022

Evolutionary Applications

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While ecological interactions have been identified as determinant for biological control efficiency, the role of evolution remains largely underestimated in biological control programs. With the restrictions on the use of both pesticides and exotic biological control agents (BCAs), the evolutionary optimization of local BCAs becomes central for improving the efficiency and the resilience of biological control. In particular, we need to better account for the natural processes of evolution to fully understand the interactions of pests and BCAs, including in biocontrol strategies integrating human manipulations of evolution (i.e., artificial selection and genetic engineering). In agroecosystems, the evolution of BCAs traits and performance depends on heritable phenotypic variation, trait genetic architecture, selection strength, stochastic processes, and other selective forces. Humans can manipulate these natural processes to increase the likelihood of evolutionary trait improvement, by artificially increasing heritable phenotypic variation, strengthening selection, controlling stochastic processes, or overpassing evolution through genetic engineering. We highlight these facets by reviewing recent studies addressing the importance of natural processes of evolution and human manipulations of these processes in biological control. We then discuss the interactions between the natural processes of evolution occurring in agroecosystems and affecting the artificially improved BCAs after their release. We emphasize that biological control cannot be summarized by interactions between species pairs because pests and biological control agents are entangled in diverse communities and are exposed to a multitude of deterministic and stochastic selective forces that can change rapidly in direction and intensity. We conclude that the combination of different evolutionary approaches can help optimize BCAs to remain efficient under changing environmental conditions and, ultimately, favor agroecosystem sustainability.

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Genetics of wild and mass-reared populations of a generalist aphid parasitoid and improvement of biological control

Cited by 9 publications

References 59 publications

Do aphids in Dutch sweet pepper greenhouses carry heritable elements that protect them against biocontrol parasitoids?

Do aphids in Dutch sweet pepper greenhouses carry heritable elements that protect them against biocontrol parasitoids?

Cereal Aphid Parasitoids in Europe (Hymenoptera: Braconidae: Aphidiinae): Taxonomy, Biodiversity, and Ecology

Biological control needs evolutionary perspectives of ecological interactions

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