image: Female European gypsy moth. view more
Credit: Image courtesy of Nick V. Grishin.
According to a study, insights from the genome of the European gypsy moth may inform pest control strategies. Introduced to North America in the 1860s, the European gypsy moth caterpillar is a voracious consumer of forest canopy leaves. The moth's spread has been relatively slow because females cannot fly. However, females of two closely related subspecies, the Asian gypsy moth and the Japanese gypsy moth, are capable of flight. Don Gammon, Nick Grishin, Daniel Janzen, and colleagues compared the genomes of the three subspecies to explore the features that distinguish the subspecies from each other and from other Lepidopteran insects. Using gene ontology analysis, the authors found 278 proteins with significant divergences, including those involved in muscle development, which may affect flight. The authors also used a gypsy moth cell line to study gene regulation when the moth is exposed to infection by diverse viruses. The authors found altered expression of hundreds of moth genes after virus exposure, including genes that encode factors with similarities to antiviral defense proteins found in other insects and humans. According to the authors, the genetic insights may lead to improved virus-based biological control strategies if flying gypsy moth females are introduced to North America.
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Article #18-18283: "Gypsy moth genome provides insights into flight capability and virus-host interactions," by Jing Zhang et al.
MEDIA CONTACT: Don Gammon, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX; tel: 508-847-6182; e-mail: <don.gammon@utsouthwestern.edu>
Journal
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences