Smart Materials for Equipment-Free Molecular Identification of Insect Pests and Viral Vectors

粉虱是全球最重要的农业和园艺害虫之一。它的成员直接通过取食造成重大的生理损害，并通过产生大量的蜜露促进叶片上的煤烟霉生长间接影响植物的光合能力。然而，最大的经济影响是由其成员集体传播300多种不同的植物病毒造成的。这些病毒包括番茄黄卷叶病毒、葫芦黄色发育迟缓症、黄瓜静脉变黄病毒、木薯褐条病毒和非洲木薯花叶病毒。这些病毒通过破坏地中海（西红柿、黄瓜）、美国南部（西红柿、黄瓜、红薯）和非洲（木薯、红薯）的高价值作物，造成重大经济损失。虽然烟粉虱在英国尚未被发现，但它被认为是对园艺产业的严重威胁。英国目前是一个受管制的无烟粉虱疫区，保持这一状态的一个核心工具是快速准确地识别烟粉虱。黄色粘捕器是英国环境与食品事务部建议的监测烟粉虱入侵和爆发措施的关键组成部分。被困在诱捕器上的昆虫对于非昆虫学家来说很难识别，因为它们与非检疫物种（如Bemisia afer和常见的温室白蝇Trialeurodes vaporariorum）有相似之处，尤其是在诱捕过程中被破坏的昆虫。因此，捕虫器被送到实验室，由专业昆虫学家使用低倍率显微镜、分子诊断工具或两者结合进行鉴定。收集诱捕器的后勤负担和与实验室分析相关的费用减少了常规监测行动中使用的粘性诱捕器的数量，降低了其作为一种监测方法的价值。因此，当疫情变得严重时，检查员通常会观察到烟粉虱的入侵。这使得控制和根除变得更加困难和昂贵，并有可能使有害生物扩散到难以或不可能控制的程度。在这里，我们提出了一种新颖的智能材料——灵感来自黄色的粘性陷阱——它包含一种粘性的生物功能聚合物，可以捕获白蝇并被动释放DNA，然后将其分层在生物传感器核心上，该核心能够将烟粉虱与其他白蝇物种区分开来，并产生视觉信号。这些材料可以印在一次性纸条上，用于不同的环境，如集装箱或密闭的生长设施。

The whitefly species complex Bemisia tabaci represents some of the most economically important agricultural and horticultural insect pests globally. Its members cause significant physiological damage directly through feeding, and indirectly on the photosynthetic capacity of plants through the large quantities of honeydew produced encouraging sooty mould growth on leaves. The greatest economic impact is, however, caused by its members collectively vectoring > 300 different species of plant virus. These include Tomato yellow leaf curl viruses, Cucurbit yellow stunting disorder, Cucumber vein yellowing virus, Cassava brown streak viruses and Africa Cassava mosaic viruses. These viruses result in significant economic losses through damage to high value crops across the Mediterranean (tomatoes, cucumbers), southern USA (tomatoes, cucumbers, sweet potato) and Africa (cassava, sweet potato). While B. tabaci is not yet established within the UK it is recognised as a serious and growing threat to the horticultural industry. The UK is currently a regulated B. tabaci pest-free area and a central tool to maintaining this status is rapid and accurate identification of B. tabaci.Yellow sticky traps are a key component of the Defra recommended measures for monitoring for incursions and outbreaks of B. tabaci in the UK. Insects stuck on traps are difficult for non-entomologists to identify due to similarities with non-quarantine species such as Bemisia afer and the common glasshouse whitefly Trialeurodes vaporariorum, especially if damaged during trapping. As a result, traps are sent to laboratories for identification by specialist entomologists using either low magnification microscopy, molecular diagnostic tools or a combination of both. The logistical burden of collecting traps and the costs associated with the laboratory analysis, reduces the number of sticky traps used in routine surveillance operations, diminishing its value as a surveillance method. As a result, incursions of B. tabaci are usually observed by inspectors when outbreaks become severe. This makes containment and eradication more difficult and costly and runs the risk that the pest spreads to the point of being difficult or impossible to contain. Here we propose a novel, smart material - inspired by yellow sticky traps - that comprise an adhesive, biofunctional polymer to trap whiteflies and release DNA passively, that is in turn layered on top of a biosensor core capable of discriminating B. tabaci from other whitefly species and producing a visual signal. These materials can be printed on to disposable paper strips for use in different settings such as shipping containers or contained growth facilities.