Interaction Cotesia flavipes (Cameron)(Hymenoptera, Branconidae) Diatraea saccharalis (Fabr.) (Lepidoptera, Crambidae)

• Grant number: 11/51655-1
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Post-Doctoral
• Start date: February 01, 2012
• End date: January 31, 2015
• Field of knowledge: Agronomical Sciences - Agronomy - Plant Health
• Principal Investigator: Fernando Luis Cônsoli
• Grantee: Daniel Russ Solis
• Host Institution: Escola Superior de Agricultura Luiz de Queiroz (ESALQ). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Piracicaba , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Many Hymenoptera are parasitoids of other insects, which they exploit as shelter and food. Host nutrients can be modified, converted and rearranged according to the needs of the parasitoid. The biochemical and physiological changes induced by the parasitoid during its development can be modulated by secreted cues like venoms, symbiotic viruses and teratocytes. Hosts can be manipulated leading to: i) moult inhibition, ii) prothoracic glands degeneration, iii) suppression of the humoral and cellular immune responses, iv) castration; v) altered gene transcription. To these regards, little is know about how Diatraea saccharalis (Fabricius) is manipulated when parasitized by Cotesia flavipes (Cameron). Diatraea saccharalis is an important pest of sugarcane, and mass-reared C. flavipes is currently employed as a biocontrol agent, becoming the most important control strategy available for D. saccharalis. Therefore, the present study is aimed at analysing the D. saccharalis -C. flavipes interaction for producing further knowledge on the: i) nutritional needs and development of C. flavipes; ii) physiological changes induced on the host by the parasite wasp, and the underlying molecular mechanisms involved. We hope that these information will enable: i) the improvement of parasitoid mass-rearing techniques, ii) the identification and selection of molecules involved with host regulation and iii) the discovery of new pathways to be exploited as new targets for developing new management strategies for controlling populations of D. saccharalis. (AU)