Biology Reference
In-Depth Information
genomics, metabolomics, and structural biology could result in improved pesti-
cides. Insecticides could be designed against target sites in pests, but allow the
survival of biological control agents. However, “The
D. melanogaster
system
does not offer a panacea. Research into this model and the major insect pests
needs to proceed in parallel, but it is certain that research in
D. melanogaster
will accelerate progress in improving the way in which insecticides are used to
control insect pests” (
Perry et al. 2011
).
Genome analyses of pest species will also aid in understanding resistance to
pesticides.
Strode et al. (2008)
evaluated the detoxification genes in the mos-
quito
Aedes aegypti
and discovered 235 members of the cytochrome P450, glu-
tathione transferase, and carboxy/cholinesterase families, which is 58% and
36% more genes compared with
D. melanogaster
and the mosquito
Anopheles
gambiae
, respectively. The authors used genomic data to construct a microarray
containing unique oligos for these putative resistance genes and compared their
expression level in resistant and susceptible strains. Candidate genes were iden-
tified in two families, the CYP9 P450s and the Epsilon GSTs. The “Detox Chip”
could allow pest managers to monitor for resistance to pesticides in dengue and
yellow fever control programs.
13.8.4 Monitoring Pest-Population Biology
Diapause is an important component of the biology of pest species and under-
standing when and where it occurs, and when diapause development is com-
pleted is important to pest managers. Diapause in 870 individuals of the
Colorado potato beetle,
Leptinotarsa decemlineata
, was evaluated under field
conditions for three years using multiplex PCR to monitor the expression of five
genes (
Yocum et al. 2010
). The authors discovered that the experimental results
on diapause attributes obtained in the laboratory were not directly applicable
to some of the beetles in the field and concluded that these differences could
be important in managing the pest. Differences in the environmental cues
obtained by the beetles in the laboratory and field indicated, “laboratory inves-
tigations are necessary but are not sufficient to reflect the complexity of field
diapause regulation.”
13.8.5 The “So What?” Test
Curtis (2002)
reviewed three areas in medical entomology where molecular
methods had been applied. These included identifying complexes of sibling
malaria-vector species, evaluating insecticide resistance in vectors of malaria,
and developing nonsusceptibility to pathogens in mosquitoes using transgenic
methods.
Curtis (2002)
questioned the number of instances in which “molecular
