Cincinnati, Ohio, USA
October 23. 2020
The University of Cincinnati is decoding the genetics of agricultural pests in a project that could help boost crop and livestock production to feed millions more people around the world.
Joshua Benoit, an associate professor in UC’s College of Arts and Sciences, contributed to genetic studies of New World screwworms that feed on livestock and thrips, tiny insects that can transmit viruses to tomatoes and other plants.
[click here to read about genetic studies of New World screwworms]
Transmitting viruses
Benoit also contributed to a genomic study in the journal BMC Biology for an insect not much bigger than the dot over the letter i. Thrips, a tiny winged insect, are legion around the world and feed on a wide variety of crops, including soybeans, tomatoes — even cannabis. They can destroy crops both by eating them and transmitting harmful viruses.
In a study led by entomologist Dorith Rotenberg at North Carolina State University, researchers mapped 16,859 genes that helped understand the thrips’ sensory and immune systems and the salivary glands that transmit the viruses.
“The genome provides the essential tools and knowledge for developing genetic pest management strategies for suppressing thrips pest populations,” Rotenberg said.
A tiny insect called thrips. Photo/J. Marie Metz/USDA
One thrips virus is a particular agricultural concern: the spotted wilt virus, which studies have found can reduce a crop’s yield by as much as 96%.
“We’re talking hundreds of millions of dollars in losses,” Benoit said.
The study found that thrips can be finicky eaters that have unique genetic adaptations that allow them to feed on many plants. They pierce the plant and suck its juices.
Thrips have surprisingly sophisticated immune systems, the study found. Researchers identified 96 immune genes, more than many other insects studied to date.
“We mapped the genome, but we also characterized immune aspects and how they feed,” Benoit said. “It was the first study of its kind to explain what underlies their reproductive mechanisms. It was far more detailed than previous genomic studies we’ve done.”
The study was funded in part by the National Science Foundation and a UC faculty development research grant.
Benoit said the solution to a thrips infestation predictably has been pesticides. But the UC study could help find better environmental solutions, he said.
“Pesticides do not discriminate at all. The same pesticide that kills a termite can kill a bee. When you spray, it can kill other beneficial insects,” Benoit said. “So we don’t want to eradicate species as much as find better ways to control them so we don’t have to use as much pesticide.”
Topics
Species
