Environmental Entomology (1988) 17, 115-119

Lori Stevens and Michael J. Wade (1988)
Effect of antibiotics on the productivity of genetic strains of Tribolium confusum and Tribolium castaneum (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae)
Environmental Entomology 17 (1), 115-119
Abstract: Genetic differences in the responses of Tribolium confusum (duVal) and Tribolium castaneum (Herbst) to antibiotics are reported. The antibiotics erythromycin, tetracycline, and spectinomycin were tested for their effect on productivity of each of three strains of T. confusum. and T. castaneum. The results of two experiments examining productivity of populations in environments containing antibiotics are presented. The first experiment examines strain and species sensitivity to low dosages (0.005% by weight) of three antibiotics. For T. castaneum, the antibiotics significantly affect productivity in only one of the three strains examined. In T. confusum, there is a significant genotype-environment interaction; that is, the different strains react in different ways to the antibiotics. The second experiment examines the effects of different dosages (0.0625-0.25% by weight) of tetracycline on the three strains of T. confusum, and demonstrates genetic differences among strains in sensitivity to dosage of antibiotic. Differences in antibiotic sensitivity are of general interest because antibiotics are often used in laboratory insect diets.
(The abstract is excluded from the Creative Commons licence and has been copied with permission by the publisher.)

Research topic(s) for pests/diseases/weeds:
rearing/culturing/mass production
general biology - morphology - evolution

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Pest and/or beneficial records:

Beneficial	Pest/Disease/Weed	Crop/Product	Country	Quarant.
	Tribolium castaneum
	Tribolium confusum