Seasonal cues induce phenotypic plasticity of Drosophila suzukii to enhance winter survival.

BACKGROUND: As global climate change and exponential human population growth intensifies pressure on agricultural systems, the need to effectively manage invasive insect pests is becoming increasingly important to global food security. Drosophila suzukii is an invasive pest that drastically expanded its global range in a very short time since 2008, spreading to most areas in North America and many countries in Europe and South America. Preliminary ecological modeling predicted a more restricted distribution and, for this reason, the invasion of D. suzukii to northern temperate regions is especially unexpected. Investigating D. suzukii phenology and seasonal adaptations can lead to a better understanding of the mechanisms through which insects express phenotypic plasticity, which likely enables invasive species to successfully colonize a wide range of environments. RESULTS: We describe seasonal phenotypic plasticity in field populations of D. suzukii. Specifically, we observed a trend of higher proportions of flies with the winter morph phenotype, characterized by darker pigmentation and longer wing length, as summer progresses to winter. A laboratory-simulated winter photoperiod and temperature (12:12 L:D and 10 °C) were sufficient to induce the winter morph phenotype in D. suzukii. This winter morph is associated with increased survival at 1 °C when compared to the summer morph, thus explaining the ability of D. suzukii to survive cold winters. We then used RNA sequencing to identify gene expression differences underlying seasonal differences in D. suzukii physiology. Winter morph gene expression is consistent with known mechanisms of cold-hardening such as adjustments to ion transport and up-regulation of carbohydrate metabolism. In addition, transcripts involved in oogenesis and DNA replication were down-regulated in the winter morph, providing the first molecular evidence of a reproductive diapause in D. suzukii. CONCLUSIONS: To date, D. suzukii cold resistance studies suggest that this species cannot overwinter in northern locations, e.g. Canada, even though they are established pests in these regions. Combining physiological investigations with RNA sequencing, we present potential mechanisms by which D. suzukii can overwinter in these regions. This work may contribute to more accurate population models that incorporate seasonal variation in physiological parameters, leading to development of better management strategies.

Field-Aged Insecticide Residues on Chrysoperla johnsoni (Neuroptera: Chrysopidae).

We studied the direct (lethal) and indirect (sublethal) effects of field-aged insecticide residues of spinetoram, chlorantraniliprole and lambda-cyhalothrin on adults and larvae of the green lacewing, Chrysoperla johnsoni Henry, Wells and Pupedis an important generalist predator in western United States pear orchards. We applied formulated pesticides using their high label rates mixed with 935 liters/ha of water on pear trees utilizing an airblast sprayer. We collected leaves from the experiment trees at 1, 7, 14, 21 days after treatment (DAT) and exposed C. johnsoni adults and second instars to insecticide residues or untreated control for 72 h. We monitored larvae that survived the treatments until adult emergence (for larvae) or adults until death (for paired adults). We assessed the adults for acute and chronic mortality, longevity, fecundity, and fertility, and larvae for acute mortality, sex ratio, developmental time, and survival of adults emerged from treated second instars, to determine lethal and sublethal effects. The field-exposed insecticide residues of chlorantraniliprole exhibited higher lethal and sublethal toxicities on C. johnsoni during the 21-d leaf collection period when compared with the field-exposed residue toxicities of lambda-cyhalothrin and spinetoram. The field-exposed residue of lambda-cyhalothrin and spinetoram exhibited moderate toxicities on C. johnsoni during the 21-d leaf collection period. Results from this study show similar trends with previous studies using multiple routes of exposure laboratory assays and field experiments on Chrysoperla sp. The direct and indirect effects of field-aged residues of spinetoram, chlorantraniliprole, and lambda-cyhalothrin on C. johnsoni are discussed.