Understanding resistance of key crop pests in Brazil

害虫是当前和未来粮食安全的主要威胁，全世界每年平均有20%的农作物死于食草性昆虫。这一问题在巴西尤为严重，农业是经济的重要组成部分，占国内生产总值的22%。巴西农民和种植者广泛使用合成杀虫剂，试图减少虫害造成的产量损失。不幸的是，对杀虫剂的日益依赖导致了对许多用于控制的化学品产生抗药性的害虫种群的出现。在这方面，两个最重要的经济物种是新热带褐臭虫Euschistus Heros和秋季粘虫Spotoptera rugiperda。黄粉虫是大豆和蔬菜作物的主要害虫，对棉花和玉米造成严重危害，而果蝇以80多种植物为食，但对玉米的破坏性特别大。这些物种现在已经出现了对几种重要杀虫剂的抗药性，并威胁到它们的可持续控制。尽管这一问题很严重，但很少有人研究了解英雄乳杆菌和果蝇抗药性的演变，并利用这一知识开发出抗击其出现和传播的方法。这在一定程度上是由于缺乏这些关键害虫物种的基因组资源--特别是在E.heros的情况下。这个第一阶段的Pump-Prime项目有两个目标，第一，它将产生关键的‘基因组’(基因组和转录)资源和数据，这些资源和数据将成为研究这些物种的社区的宝贵资产。这些将包括英雄E.heros的第一个带注释的基因组草案，E.heros和S.rugiperda肠道中整个微生物群落(微生物群)的序列特征，以及这两个物种的组织特异性基因表达数据，这些数据可用于确定候选基因(如参与抗药性的基因)在哪里表达。在这项提议的背景下，这些数据将极大地促进未来对这些物种中与杀虫剂抗药性相关的基因和DNA标记的表征，这些基因和DNA标记可用于开发工具来预防、减缓或克服抗药性的发展。为了确保从该项目和后续项目中获得的知识能够产生实际影响，这一主要项目的第二个主要目标是在巴西农业领域建立一个关键利益攸关群体网络。这将通过与种植者协会、政府和行业的成员举办研讨会来实现，包括巴西抗药性行动委员会(IRAC-BR)、巴西棉花种植者协会(ABRAPA)、大豆和玉米种植者协会(Aprosoja)、巴西农业部和农药技术咨询委员会(CTA)的代表。这些会议将确定未来研究的优先事项，并制定将科学转化为工具和战略的路线，以便对巴西农业生态系统的这两种重要害虫进行抗性管理和合理控制。

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.