title: Do Sesamia nonagrioides (Lepidoptera; Noctuidae) gravid females discriminate between Bt or multivitamin corn varieties? Role of olfactory and visual cues.
abstract: The Mediterranean corn borer, Sesamia nonagrioides Lefèbvre, is a key pest of corn and a main target of Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) corn in Northeast Spain. Trends for future biotechnology crops indicate that Bt, non-Bt, and stacked corn varieties with metabolic pathways for vitamin-increased traits could coexist in same region. Knowledge of the oviposition response of gravid females of S. nonagrioides to these different varieties could be extremely important for managing strategies aimed for delaying resistance development. In dual-choice assays, we examined the host preference of gravid females of S. nonagrioides for four corn varieties: a new transgenic corn with increased vitamin levels, its near isogenic counterpart (M37W), a Bt corn plant, and its near isogenic counterpart. Olfactory cues were the predominant ones when gravid females looked for a suitable host to lay eggs, and no synergistic effects were observed when both visual and olfactory cues were present. When the plant was visible, the females preferred the odors emitted by the nontransgenic to its multivitamin transgenic counterpart and when they only could detect the volatiles they also preferred the nontransgenic M37W variety to the Bt corn variety. If gravid females are less attracted to corn with an increased level of vitamins, this could impact insect resistance management and the value of refuge plants, if such traits are stacked with an insect resistance trait.
authors.affiliation: Department of Crop and Forest Sciences, Agrotecnio Center, University of Lleida, RoviraRoure 191, 25198 Lleida, Spain.
authors.forename: Diego
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Cruz
authors.affiliation: Department of Crop and Forest Sciences, Agrotecnio Center, University of Lleida, RoviraRoure 191, 25198 Lleida, Spain eizaguirre@pvcf.udl.cat.
authors.forename: Matilde
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Eizaguirre
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001413:Bacillus thuringiensis / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics; D003463:Cues; D005260:Female; D009036:Moths / Q000502:physiology*; D055696:Olfactory Perception; D010058:Oviposition; D030821:Plants, Genetically Modified / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000235:genetics; D014796:Visual Perception; D014815:Vitamins / Q000737:chemistry; D003313:Zea mays / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000235:genetics
chemical_list: D014815:Vitamins
keywords: agricultural entomology; behavior
references.citation: Bull Entomol Res. 2009 Jun;99(3):253-61
references.pmid: 18840315
references.citation: J Chem Ecol. 1993 Nov;19(11):2671-96
references.pmid: 24248720
references.citation: Annu Rev Entomol. 2002;47:817-44
references.pmid: 11729092
references.citation: Bioessays. 2010 Sep;32(9):777-90
references.pmid: 20665764
references.citation: J Econ Entomol. 2005 Apr;98(2):464-70
references.pmid: 15889739
references.citation: J Chem Ecol. 2004 Nov;30(11):2243-56
references.pmid: 15672668
references.citation: Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2009 May 12;106(19):7762-7
references.pmid: 19416835
references.citation: GM Crops. 2010 Jul-Sep;1(4):220-9
references.pmid: 21844677
references.citation: J Econ Entomol. 2002 Dec;95(6):1289-93
references.pmid: 12539844
references.citation: Int J Biol Sci. 2013;9(5):481-95
references.pmid: 23781142
references.citation: Environ Entomol. 2007 Feb;36(1):142-50
references.pmid: 17349127
references.citation: Plant Biotechnol J. 2005 Mar;3(2):141-55
references.pmid: 17173615
references.citation: Trends Biotechnol. 2009 May;27(5):277-86
references.pmid: 19324440
references.citation: J Comp Physiol A Neuroethol Sens Neural Behav Physiol. 2006 Apr;192(4):431-7
references.pmid: 16380841
references.citation: Trends Plant Sci. 2005 Jun;10(6):269-74
references.pmid: 15949760
references.citation: Environ Entomol. 2010 Dec;39(6):1929-35
references.pmid: 22182559
references.citation: Environ Entomol. 2011 Aug;40(4):855-63
references.pmid: 22251686
references.citation: Am J Bot. 2001 Sep;88(9):1704-6
references.pmid: 21669705
references.citation: Annu Rev Entomol. 2011;56:239-54
references.pmid: 20822443