Cross-resistance and synergism bioassays suggest multiple mechanisms of pyrethroid resistance in western corn rootworm populations

Authors

Adriano E. Pereira, University of MissouriFollow
Dariane Souza, University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Sarah N. Zukoff, Kansas State UniversityFollow
Lance J. Meinke, University of Nebraska-LincolnFollow
Blair D. Siegfried, University of FloridaFollow

Document Type

Article

Date of this Version

6-19-2017

Citation

E. Pereira A, Souza D, Zukoff SN, Meinke LJ, Siegfried BD (2017) Cross-resistance and synergism bioassays suggest multiple mechanisms of pyrethroid resistance in western corn rootworm populations. PLoS ONE 12(6): e0179311. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal. pone.0179311

Comments

Copyright: © 2017 E. Pereira et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License.

Abstract

Recently, resistance to the pyrethroid bifenthrin was detected and confirmed in field populations of western corn rootworm, Diabrotica virgifera virgifera LeConte from southwestern areas of Nebraska and Kansas. As a first step to understand potential mechanisms of resistance, the objectives of this study were i) to assess adult mortality at diagnostic concentration- LC99 to the pyrethroids bifenthrin and tefluthrin as well as DDT, ii) estimate adult and larval susceptibility to the same compounds as well as the organophosphate methyl-parathion, and iii) perform synergism experiments with piperonyl butoxide (PBO) (P450 inhibitor) and S,S,S-tributyl-phosphorotrithioate (DEF) (esterase inhibitor) in field populations. Most of the adult field populations exhibiting some level of bifenthrin resistance exhibited significantly lower mortality to both pyrethroids and DDT than susceptible control populations at the estimated LC99 of susceptible populations. Results of adult dose-mortality bioassays also revealed elevated LC50 values for bifenthrin resistant populations compared to the susceptible control population with resistance ratios ranging from 2.5 to 5.5-fold for bifenthrin, 28 to 54.8-fold for tefluthrin, and 16.3 to 33.0 for DDT. These bioassay results collectively suggest some level of cross-resistance between the pyrethroids and DDT. In addition, both PBO and DEF reduced the resistance ratios for resistant populations although there was a higher reduction in susceptibility of adults exposed to PBO versus DEF. Susceptibility in larvae varied among insecticides and did not correlate with adult susceptibility to tefluthrin and DDT, as most resistance ratios were < 5-fold when compared to the susceptible population. These results suggest that both detoxifying enzymes and target site insensitivity might be involved as resistance mechanisms.