Understanding resistance of key crop pests in Brazil

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Insect pests represent a major threat to current and future food security with an average of 20% of crops worldwide lost annually to herbivorous insects. This issue is particularly acute in Brazil where agriculture forms a key component of the economy accounting for 22% of gross domestic product (GDP). Synthetic insecticides are widely used by farmers and growers in Brazil in an attempt to reduce yield loss from insect pests. Unfortunately, the growing reliance on insecticides has resulted in the emergence of insect pest populations that are resistant to many of the chemicals used for control. Two of the most economically important species in this regard are the neotropical brown stink bug, Euschistus heros, and the fall armyworm, Spodoptera frugiperda. E. heros is a major pest of soybean and vegetable crops and causes severe damage to cotton and maize, while S. frugiperda feeds on more than 80 plant species but is particularly destructive on maize. Resistance to several important insecticides has now emerged in these species and threatens their sustainable control. Despite the seriousness of this issue very little research has been carried out to understand the evolution of resistance in E. heros and S. frugiperda and to use this knowledge to develop means to combat its emergence and spread. This is, in part, due to a lack of genomic resources for these key pest species - particularly in the case of E. heros. This Stage 1 pump-prime project has two aims, firstly it will generate key 'omic' (genomic and transcriptomic) resources and data for E. heros and S. frugiperda that will be a valuable asset to the community studying these species. These will include the first annotated draft genome for E. heros, sequence characterization of the entire microbial community (the microbiome) in the gut of E. heros and S. frugiperda, and tissue-specific gene expression data for both species that can be used to determine where candidate genes (such as those involved in resistance) are expressed. In the context of this proposal these data will greatly facilitate future characterization of genes and DNA markers associated with insecticide resistance in these species that can be used to develop tools to prevent, slow or overcome the development of resistance. To ensure that the knowledge gained in this and follow on projects can achieve applied impact the second main aim of this pump-prime project is to develop a network of key stakeholder groups in Brazilian agriculture. This will be achieved by holding workshops with members of growers associations, government and industry including representatives of Insecticide Resistance Action Committee Brazil (IRAC-BR), the Brazilian Cotton Growers Association (ABRAPA), the Soybean and Maize Growers Association (APROSOJA), the Brazilian Ministry of Agriculture and the Technical Advisory Committee of Pesticides (CTA). These meetings will define the priorities of future research and develop routes for translation of the science into tools and strategies for resistance management and rational control of these two important insect pests of Brazilian agri-ecosystems.