Gene expression associated to chemosensing in the parasitoid Diachasmimorpha longicaudata (Hymenoptera Braconidae)

WULFF, J. P.; RIVAROLA, M.; DEVESCOVI, F.; SEGURA, D. F.; LANZAVECCHIA, S. B.

Londrina

Congreso; SICONBIOL 2019; 2019

Diachasmimorphalongicaudata Ashmead is a solitary endoparasitoid considered the main biologicalcontrol agent of Tephritidae fruit flies of economic importance. Femalesparasitize late instar larvae of several fruit fly species, such as Ceratitis capitataand Anastrepha fraterculus Wiedemann. Numerous ecological and behavioralstudies have addressed key issues about D. longicaudata foraging behavior. Currentmethods of monitoring the efficiency of D. longicaudata as a biological controlagent are limited to the sampling of infested fruit and the recording ofparasitism rates. Recent research works have identified volatile compounds frominfested fruits possibly guiding female parasitoids to their host larvae.Conversely, no studies have focused on the molecular mechanisms associated withthis behavior. In the present work we performed a functional analysis of chemoreceptorspotentially associated to odor detection in this species. We carried out abioinformatic screening of a whole body transcriptome of D. longicaudata. Aftera phylogenetic analysis and a tissue expression profile, fourteen odorantbinding proteins and seven chemosensory proteins (odorant molecule transportersassociated to membrane chemoreceptors) were characterized. Subsequently, functionalanalyses of a set of genes were performed through behavioral and moleculartests in which the gene expression was silenced through the provision of RNAito adult females. Preliminary results showed that several of the selected genesare linked to the foraging behavior. This is the first molecular approach tothe study of chemosensing in D. longicaudata providing useful information tounderstand the underlying biochemical mechanism. Our results will be of help tothe development of attractive baits for monitoring parasitoid performance in thefield and also to increase efficiency of biological control strategies bystimulating the presence of parasitoids in area of high incidence of the pest.