Long-term studies on the evolution of resistance of Myzus persicae (Hemiptera: Aphididae) to insecticides in Greece

Abstract

The aphid Myzus persicae s.l. (Hemiptera: Aphididae) is an important pest of many crops worldwide with a complex life cycle, intensely controlled by chemical pesticides, and has developed resistance to almost all used insecticides. In Greece, the aphid exhibits high genetic variation and adaptability and it is a classic example of evolution in the making. We have been studying M. persicae for over 20 years, on different host plants and varying geographical areas, analyzing its bio-ecology and the ability to develop resistance to insecticides. In this review, we present new and historical data on the effectiveness of insecticides from seven chemical groups used to control the aphid in Greece and the incidence of seven resistance mechanisms, including the new fast-spreading R81T point mutation of the postsynaptic nicotinic acetylcholine receptor. Thousands of samples were tested by biological, biochemical and molecular assays. The aphid populations were found to have developed and maintain resistance at medium to high levels to organophosphates, carbamates, pyrethroids and neonicotinoids for decades. In the latter group, a marked increase is recorded during an ~10-year period. The data analyzed and the extensive bibliography, advocate the difficulty to control the aphid making the design and application of IPM/IRM programs a challenge. We discuss principles and recommendations for the management of resistance, including the use of compounds such as flonicamid, spirotetramat, flupyradifurone and sulfoxaflor. We emphasize that resistance is a dynamic phenomenon, changing in time and space, requiring, therefore, continuous monitoring.

Ten Years of Deformed Wing Virus (DWV) in Hawaiian Honey Bees (Apis mellifera), the Dominant DWV-A Variant Is Potentially Being Replaced by Variants with a DWV-B Coding Sequence

“…Blue dots on a red background indicate that DWV-A is dominant, but DWV-B is present conversely red dots on a blue background indicate that DWV-B is dominant, but DWV-A is present. The map was constructed by combining global level DWV data [ 33 , 34 ] with more detailed country level info as follows: Argentina (Buenos Aires and Sante Fe) [ 35 ], Australia [ 36 ], Brazil [ 37 ], Chile [ 38 ], China [ 39 ], Cuba [ 40 ], Ethiopia (Tigray) [ 41 ], Fernando de Noronha [ 25 ], France [ 20 ], Germany [ 32 ], Hawaii [This study, 26], Kenya [ 42 ], Papua new guinea [ 13 ], South Africa [ 30 ], Tunisia [ 43 ], Turkey [ 44 ], UK [ 16 ], Uruguay [ 45 ], USA [ 16 ]. The studies used to create this diagram were not required to have used the same primer set as our study.…”

Changes in the genetic composition of Myzus persicae nicotianae populations in Chile and frequency of insecticide resistance mutations

“…Although pyrethroids and neonicotinoids have been intensively sprayed on tobacco fields to control the tobacco aphid during the last decade in Chile, none of the new genotypes have kdr (L1014F), super-kdr (M918T) or nAChRβ mutations (Fuentes-Contreras et al, 2007). Similar changes in the frequencies of genotypes and insecticide resistance mutations have been described for M. persicae nicotianae in tobacco fields in Greece (Margaritopoulos et al, 2007a(Margaritopoulos et al, , 2007b(Margaritopoulos et al, , 2021Kati et al, 2014).…”

“…Furthermore, the presence of other super-kdr mutations detected in M. persicae persicae, such as the super-kdr M918L mutation, is not associated with the presence of the kdr L1014F mutation (Fontaine et al, 2011;Panini et al, 2014: Mingeot et al, 2021. These super-kdr M918L mutations have not yet been described in M. persicae nicotianae, even in Greece, where recent studies have established their absence (Margaritopoulos et al, 2021).…”

Case Study Using Recommended Reference Genes Actin and 18S for Reverse-Transcription Quantitative Real-Time PCR Analysis in Myzus persicae

“…The over-expression of these two genes induced by insecticide treatment even as sublethal doses have been observed in many insects including M . persicae [ 20 – 22 ]. CYP6-1 is a member of cytochrome 450 monooxygenase family.…”