Gene amplification and microsatellite polymorphism underlie a recent insect host shift

Bass, C., Zimmer, C. T., Riveron Miranda, Jacob ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5395-767X, Wilding, Craig, Wondji, Charles ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0791-3673, Kaussmann, M., Field, L. M., Williamson, M. S. and Nauen, R. (2013) 'Gene amplification and microsatellite polymorphism underlie a recent insect host shift'. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Vol 110, Issue 48, pp. 19460-19465.

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Abstract

Host plant shifts of herbivorous insects may be a first step toward sympatric speciation and can create new pests of agriculturally important crops; however, the molecular mechanisms that mediate this process are poorly understood. Certain races of the polyphagous aphid Myzus persicae have recently adapted to feed on tobacco (Myzus persicae nicotianae) and show a reduced sensitivity to the plant alkaloid nicotine and cross-resistance to neonicotinoids a class of synthetic insecticides widely used for control. Here we show constitutive overexpression of a cytochrome P450 (CYP6CY3) allows tobacco-adapted races of M. persicae to efficiently detoxify nicotine and has preadapted them to resist neonicotinoid insecticides. CYP6CY3, is highly overexpressed in M. persicae nicotianae clones from three continents compared with M. persicae s.s. and expression level is significantly correlated with tolerance to nicotine. CYP6CY3 is highly efficient (compared with the primary human nicotine-metabolizing P450) at metabolizing nicotine and neonicotinoids to less toxic metabolites in vitro and generation of transgenic Drosophila expressing CYP6CY3 demonstrate that it confers resistance to both compounds in vivo. Overexpression of CYP6CY3 results from the expansion of a dinucleotide microsatellite in the promoter region and a recent gene amplification, with some aphid clones carrying up to 100 copies. We conclude that the mutations leading to overexpression of CYP6CY3 were a prerequisite for the host shift of M. persicae to tobacco and that gene amplification and microsatellite polymorphism are evolutionary drivers in insect host adaptation.

Item Type:	Article
Subjects:	QX Parasitology > Insects. Other Parasites > QX 600 Insect control. Tick control WA Public Health > Preventive Medicine > WA 240 Disinfection. Disinfestation. Pesticides (including diseases caused by)
Faculty: Department:	Biological Sciences > Vector Biology Department
Digital Object Identifer (DOI):	https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1314122110
Depositing User:	Martin Chapman
Date Deposited:	29 Oct 2014 11:04
Last Modified:	13 Sep 2019 15:47
URI:	https://archive.lstmed.ac.uk/id/eprint/4514

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