Pest Management Science (2019) 75, 2857-2864

Alberto S. Corrêa, Erick M.G. Cordeiro and Celso Omoto (2019)
Agricultural insect hybridization and implications for pest management
Pest Management Science 75 (11), 2857-2864
Abstract: Biological invasions, the expansion of agricultural frontiers, and climate change favor encounters of divergent lineages of animals and plants, increasing the likelihood of hybridization. However, hybridization of insect species and its consequences for agroecosystems have not received sufficient attention. Gene exchange between distinct and distant genetic pools can improve the survival and reproduction of insect pests, and threaten beneficial insects in disturbed agricultural environments. Hybridization may be the underlying explanation for the recurrent pest outbreaks and control failures in putative hybrid zones, as suspected for bollworm, corn borer, whiteflies, and stink bugs. Reliable predictions of the types of changes that can be expected in pest insect genomes and fitness, and of their impacts on the fate of species and populations remain elusive. Typical steps in pest management, such as insect identification, pest monitoring, and control are likely affected by gene flow and adaptive introgression mediated by hybridization, and we do not have ways to respond to or mitigate the problem. To address the adverse effects of farming intensification and global trade, we must ensure that current integrated pest management programs incorporate up-to-date monitoring and diagnostic tools. The rapid identification of hybrids, quantification of levels of introgression, and in-depth knowledge of what genes have been transferred may help to explain and predict insect population outbreaks and control failures in the future.
(The abstract is excluded from the Creative Commons licence and has been copied with permission by the publisher.)
Link to article at publishers website
Database assignments for author(s): Celso Omoto

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

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Pest and/or beneficial records:

Beneficial	Pest/Disease/Weed	Crop/Product	Country	Quarant.
	Ostrinia nubilalis
	Helicoverpa zea