Beijing News (reporter Zhou Huaizong) Recently, the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences Institute of Plant Protection Agricultural Invasive Organisms Prevention and Monitoring Innovation Team found that the Beijing population of ragweed natural enemy insects broadly concentrated fluorescent leaf beetle has stronger cold tolerance than the Guangxi population, this study reveals the physiological and molecular genetic mechanism of rapid adaptation to the cold tolerance of ragweed natural enemies. The results were published in the Journal of Pest Science.
Ragweed natural enemy insects are widely concentrated in fluorescent leaf beetles. Courtesy of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences
According to reports, the dolphin grassland is produced in North America, is a vicious invasive weed, and is distributed in most parts of the south and northeast of the mainland. It is a specific natural enemy of ragweed, which has played a very significant and continuous control role in ragweed in more than a dozen provinces, autonomous regions and cities in the south, effectively inhibiting the expansion and spread of ragweed populations.
Since 2012, the team has transferred the Guangju fluorescent leaf beetle from Guangxi to the Mentougou area of Beijing to release controlled ragweed through artificial relocation, and found that it successfully overwintered in the Beijing area and established a stable population, indicating that its hardiness has undergone rapid adaptive changes in a short period of time.
The researchers conducted a comparative study between the Beijing population of broad-polyfluorophyllum and the Population of Guests in Guangxi, and found that the content of cold-tolerant substances and the expression level of key cold-tolerant genes in adults in the Beijing population were significantly higher than those of the Guangxi population. Courtesy of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences
The researchers conducted a comparative study between the Beijing population of broad-polyfluorophyllum and the Population of Guests in Guangxi, and found that the content of cold-tolerant substances and the expression level of key cold-tolerant genes in adults in the Beijing population were significantly higher than those of the Guangxi population. Genetic hybridization experiments have found that the content of cryoprotectants and energy substances in hybrid offspring adults is higher than that of both parents, or between the two parents.
The team of researchers said that this study helps to guide the use of broad-polyfluorite leaf beetles in higher latitudes to carry out effective biological control work in ragweed occurrence areas. The research is supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China.
Beijing News reporter Zhou Huaizong correspondent Ouyang Canbin
Edited by Tang Zheng Proofreader Liu Baoqing