New approach to resistance evolution management (ENDORSE)

• Grant number: 19/10324-4
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Post-Doctoral
• Start date: July 01, 2019
• End date: October 31, 2019
• Field of knowledge: Agronomical Sciences - Agronomy - Plant Health
• Agreement: BBSRC, UKRI ; Newton Fund, with FAPESP as a partner institution in Brazil
• Principal Investigator: Ricardo Antonio Polanczyk
• Grantee: Naymã Pinto Dias
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Ciências Agrárias e Veterinárias (FCAV). Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). Campus de Jaboticabal. Jaboticabal , SP, Brazil
• Associated research grant: 18/21089-3 - ENhancing Diversity to Overcome ReSistance Evolution, AP.R

Abstract

We propose a revolutionary approach to pest management that will enhance the sustainability of crop production. Insecticide resistance evolution occurs when a single control agent is applied over extensive areas, causing consistent selection for rare resistance genes. To prevent these selective sweeps, we investigate how multiple fungal biopesticide strains can be used heterogeneously across agricultural landscapes, so that selection for resistance varies spatially. We also exploit the fact that the optimum genotype to defend against one pathogen is often highly sensitive to the environment; by overlaying variation in pathogen strain with variation in crop type, we decrease the consistency of selection even further, and thereby prevent resistance evolution.