Projecting potential distribution of Eucryptorrhynchus scrobiculatus Motschulsky and E. brandti (Harold) under historical climate and RCP 8.5 scenario

Similarity but not equivalence: Ecological niche comparison between sandflies from the Pleistocene and future scenarios in Central and South America

Sandfly species (Diptera: Psychodidae) are suspected or proven vectors of Leishmania spp. in the American region. Understanding niche conservatism (NC) in insect vectors allows an understanding of constraints on adaptive responses, and thus implications for disease ecology. Therefore, in this study, the authors evaluated NC in three vector species of leishmaniasis (Lutzomyia gomezi, Psathyromyia shannoni and Pintomyia ovallesi) in Central and South America. For this, the authors performed niche identity and similarity testing through paired comparisons in ENMTools and niche overlap in Niche Analyst. The authors found that species niches were more similar to each other than if the points had been randomly extracted, and they also found extensive similarity between Pa. shannoni and Lu. gomezi niches and in Pa. shannoni niches over different timescales. The authors suggest Pa. shannoni as a priority species due to fundamental niche similarity with phylogenetically related species and also its extensive evolutionary history and ecological plasticity that could affect the emergence and resurgence of leishmaniasis in areas endemic by this vector.

Population differentiation and intraspecific genetic admixture in two Eucryptorrhynchus weevils (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) across northern China

Increasing damage of pests in agriculture and forestry can arise both as a consequence of changes in local species and through the introduction of alien species. In this study, we used population genetics approaches to examine population processes of two pests of the tree‐of‐heaven trunk weevil (TTW), Eucryptorrhynchus brandti (Harold) and the tree‐of‐heaven root weevil (TRW), E. scrobiculatus (Motschulsky) on the tree‐of‐heaven across their native range of China. We analyzed the population genetics of the two weevils based on ten highly polymorphic microsatellite markers. Population genetic diversity analysis showed strong population differentiation among populations of each species, with F_ST ranges from 0.0197 to 0.6650 and from −0.0724 to 0.6845, respectively. Populations from the same geographic areas can be divided into different genetic clusters, and the same genetic cluster contained populations from different geographic populations, pointing to dispersal of the weevils possibly being human‐mediated. Redundancy analysis showed that the independent effects of environment and geography could account for 93.94% and 29.70% of the explained genetic variance in TTW, and 41.90% and 55.73% of the explained genetic variance in TRW, respectively, indicating possible impacts of local climates on population genetic differentiation. Our study helps to uncover population genetic processes of these local pest species with relevance to control methods.

Expression Profiling of Plant Cell Wall-Degrading Enzyme Genes in Eucryptorrhynchus scrobiculatus Midgut

In China, the wood-boring weevil Eucryptorrhynchus scrobiculatus damages and eventually kills the tree of heaven Ailanthus altissima. To feed and digest the cell wall of A. altissima, E. scrobiculatus requires plant cell wall-degrading enzymes (PCWDEs). In the present study, we used next-generation sequencing to analyze the midgut transcriptome of E. scrobiculatus. Using three midgut transcriptomes, we assembled 21,491 unigenes from 167,714,100 clean reads. We identified 25 putative PCWDEs, including 11 cellulases and 14 pectinases. We constructed phylogenetic trees with a maximum likelihood algorithm to elucidate the relationships between sequences of the PCWDE protein families and speculate the functions of the PCWDE genes in E. scrobiculatus. The expression patterns of 17 enzymes in the midgut transcriptome were analyzed in various tissues by quantitative real-time PCR (RT-qPCR). The relative expression levels of 12 genes in the midgut and two genes in the proboscis were significantly higher than those in the other tissues. The proboscis and midgut are the digestive organs of insects, and the high expression level indirectly indicates that these genes are related to digestion. The present study has enabled us to understand the types and numbers of the PCWDEs of E. scrobiculatus and will be helpful for research regarding other weevils’ PCWDEs in the future.

Selection of reference genes for tissue/organ samples of adults of Eucryptorrhynchus scrobiculatus

Eucryptorrhynchus scrobiculatus is an important wood-boring pest of Ailanthus altissima in China, where it causes a large number of these trees to weaken or even die. To identify genes related to economic traits or specific cellular processes in E. scrobiculatus, gene expression in multiple tissue/organ samples is commonly surveyed, and reference genes are required in this process as a control for normalization. In the present study, 18 candidate reference genes from E. scrobiculatus were identified, and the expression levels of these reference genes were estimated through quantitative real-time PCR. Differences in expression levels were analyzed with four algorithms (geNorm, NormFinder, BestKeeper and delta Ct) and comprehensively with RefFinder. With the most stable levels of expression in different tissues, RPL13, RPS3 and RPL36 were determined to be suitable for use as candidate reference genes. Moreover, the expression profile of one target gene (glycoside hydrolase family 45, GH45) confirmed the reliability of the selected candidate reference genes. This study provides the first set of suitable candidate reference genes for gene expression studies in E. scrobiculatus, and the findings will facilitate subsequent transcriptomics and functional gene research on this pest.

Prediction of current and future potential distributions of the Eucalyptus pest Leptocybe invasa (Hymenoptera: Eulophidae) in China using the CLIMEX model

BACKGROUND

The wasp Leptocybe invasa Fisher & LaSalle (Hymenoptera: Eulophidae), a Eucalyptus (Myrtaceae) pest native to Australia, has caused economic and ecologic losses in China. It is a serious pest in southern provinces. Because climate is a limiting factor in insect distribution, we used the model CLIMEX to predict the effect of climate change on potential current and future distributions of L. invasa in China. Data were collected on the current locations of this wasp, along with the damage incurred to Eucalyptus. These data were used to create a forecast model to predict potential current and future distribution maps of L. invasa in China.

RESULTS

The verification results showed that 99.5% of the distribution samples formulated by the model are highly reliable and accurate. The result predicted that the potential current distribution of L. invasa will concentrate south of the Yellow River basin. The future distribution maps predicted a small-scale potential expansion north-northwest of Guangxi and more areas within China will provide increasingly suitable habitats for colonization by L. invasa.

CONCLUSION

These distribution predications will be useful in determining where preventive and control measures should be implemented against this pest wasp in Eucalyptus throughout China. © 2019 Society of Chemical Industry.