近年来，成品粮安全储藏已成为国家食品安全重要研究内容。本项目针对多种害虫经常同时发生的粮食储藏生态系统中，为何赤拟谷盗T. castaneum能够成为小麦粉储藏过程中优势为害种群这一科学问题，在前期研究工作基础上，深入研究小麦粉中苯醌含量与赤拟谷盗种群动态的关系、苯醌在调控赤拟谷盗与小麦粉储藏期间其他主要害虫锯谷盗O. surinamensis竞争中的生态学功能、苯醌对赤拟谷盗与锯谷盗生理生化的影响，进而运用高通量测序技术RNA-seq和生物信息学方法比较分析苯醌处理前后赤拟谷盗和锯谷盗的基因表达差异；结合实时荧光定量PCR技术筛选苯醌处理影响赤拟谷盗和锯谷盗生态适应能力的关键基因，并用RNAi技术对关键基因进行功能验证，从生态、生理生化和分子层面阐明苯醌在赤拟谷盗成灾和竞争中的生态作用机理。本研究结果可为通过检测储粮中苯醌含量变化科学进行害虫预测预报、有效实施害虫生态防治提供新思路。

The researches about the safe storage of processed grain, particularly wheat flour, have gradually been the focus of state grain and food safety in recent years. Why does Tribolium castaneum become an dominant insect population in stored wheat flour after processing from wheat stored in the whole grain storage ecosystem where multi-species insects frequently occur ? According to the scientific question, the project aims to detailedly investigate the following contents based on our previous researches: the relationship between T. castaneum population dynamics and the content of benzoquinone, the characteristic secretion by T. castaneum in stored wheat flour; the ecological mechanism of benzoquinone on manipulating the outbreak of Tribolium castaneum and its competition with other major stored grain insect Oryzaephilus surinamensis in stored wheat flour; the effect of benzoquinone on the physiological biochemistry of T. castaneum and O. surinamensis. Then, we analyze the gene expression profile difference of O. surinamensis and T. castaneum before and after treating with benzoquinone, by high-throughput sequencing technique RNA-seq and bioinformatics analysis. The key candidate genes associated with ecological adaptation of O. surinamensis and T. castaneum will be further screened by real-time fluorescent quantitative PCR technique. Subsequently, the potential functions of the key candidate genes will be validated with RNAi technique for elucidating the ecological mechanism of benzoquinone on the outbreak and competition of Tribolium castaneum infesting stored wheat flour from ecological, physiological biochemistry, and molecular aspects. These results can provide theoretical foundation and new ideas for scientifically monitoring the occurrence of insects by detecting the content of benzoquinone in stored wheat flour, effectively implementing insect ecological control.