A model species for agricultural pest genomics: the genome of the Colorado potato beetle, Leptinotarsa decemlineata (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae)

• Published in: Scientific reports Vol. 8; no. 1; pp. 1931 - 18
• Main Authors: Schoville, Sean D., Chen, Yolanda H., Andersson, Martin N., Benoit, Joshua B., Bhandari, Anita, Bowsher, Julia H., Brevik, Kristian, Cappelle, Kaat, Chen, Mei-Ju M., Childers, Anna K., Childers, Christopher, Christiaens, Olivier, Clements, Justin, Didion, Elise M., Elpidina, Elena N., Engsontia, Patamarerk, Friedrich, Markus, García-Robles, Inmaculada, Gibbs, Richard A., Goswami, Chandan, Grapputo, Alessandro, Gruden, Kristina, Grynberg, Marcin, Henrissat, Bernard, Jennings, Emily C., Jones, Jeffery W., Kalsi, Megha, Khan, Sher A., Kumar, Abhishek, Li, Fei, Lombard, Vincent, Ma, Xingzhou, Martynov, Alexander, Miller, Nicholas J., Mitchell, Robert F., Munoz-Torres, Monica, Muszewska, Anna, Oppert, Brenda, Palli, Subba Reddy, Panfilio, Kristen A., Pauchet, Yannick, Perkin, Lindsey C., Petek, Marko, Poelchau, Monica F., Record, Éric, Rinehart, Joseph P., Robertson, Hugh M., Rosendale, Andrew J., Ruiz-Arroyo, Victor M., Smagghe, Guy, Szendrei, Zsofia, Thomas, Gregg W.C., Torson, Alex S., Vargas Jentzsch, Iris M., Weirauch, Matthew T., Yates, Ashley D., Yocum, George D., Yoon, June-Sun, Richards, Stephen
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London Nature Publishing Group UK 31.01.2018; Nature Publishing Group
• Subjects: 38/91; 45/23; 631/181/735; 631/208/191; 631/208/212/2304; 631/208/212/748; 631/208/8; Adaptation; Agricultural Sciences; Agriculture; Animals; Annan lantbruksvetenskap; BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES; Biochemistry, Molecular Biology; Biologi; Biological Sciences; Bitter taste; Coleoptera; Coleoptera - genetics; Digestive enzymes; DNA Transposable Elements - genetics; Double-stranded RNA; Evolution, Molecular; Female; Gene Expression Regulation; Genetic Variation; Genetics; Genetics, Population; Genetik; Genome, Insect; Genomes; Genomics; Herbivory; Host-Parasite Interactions - genetics; Humanities and Social Sciences; Insect Proteins - genetics; Insect Proteins - metabolism; Insecticide Resistance - genetics; Insecticides; Lantbruksvetenskap och veterinärmedicin; Leptinotarsa decemlineata; Life Sciences; Male; Molecular Sequence Annotation; multidisciplinary; Multigene Family; Natural Sciences; Naturvetenskap; Other Agricultural Sciences; Other Agricultural Sciences not elsewhere specified; Pest Control, Biological; Pesticide resistance; Pests; Phenotypes; Phylogeny; Potatoes; RNA Interference; RNA-mediated interference; Science; Science (multidisciplinary); Solanum tuberosum - parasitology; Structure-function relationships; Taste receptors; Transcription Factors - metabolism; Övrig annan lantbruksvetenskap; United States > US; Colorado
• ISSN: 2045-2322; 2045-2322
• DOI: 10.1038/s41598-018-20154-1

The Colorado potato beetle is one of the most challenging agricultural pests to manage. It has shown a spectacular ability to adapt to a variety of solanaceaeous plants and variable climates during its global invasion, and, notably, to rapidly evolve insecticide resistance. To examine evidence of rapid evolutionary change, and to understand the genetic basis of herbivory and insecticide resistance, we tested for structural and functional genomic changes relative to other arthropod species using genome sequencing, transcriptomics, and community annotation. Two factors that might facilitate rapid evolutionary change include transposable elements, which comprise at least 17% of the genome and are rapidly evolving compared to other Coleoptera, and high levels of nucleotide diversity in rapidly growing pest populations. Adaptations to plant feeding are evident in gene expansions and differential expression of digestive enzymes in gut tissues, as well as expansions of gustatory receptors for bitter tasting. Surprisingly, the suite of genes involved in insecticide resistance is similar to other beetles. Finally, duplications in the RNAi pathway might explain why Leptinotarsa decemlineata has high sensitivity to dsRNA. The L . decemlineata genome provides opportunities to investigate a broad range of phenotypes and to develop sustainable methods to control this widely successful pest.