Fitness costs in clothianidin-resistant population of the melon aphid, Aphis gossypii

PLoS One. 2020 Sep 14;15(9):e0238707. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0238707. eCollection 2020.

Abstract

Clothianidin is a second-generation neonicotinoid insecticide, widely used against sap-sucking insect pest including melon aphid, Aphis gossypii Glover (Hemiptera: Aphididae). This pest causes severe economic damage to Cucurbitaceae plants worldwide. In this study, we investigated clothianidin resistance development under continuous selection pressure. Moreover, the age-stage, two-sex life table approach was used to evaluate the impact of clothianidin resistance on the fitness of A. gossypii. A clothianidin resistant strain (CT-R) with a 23.17-fold resistance level was developed from a susceptible strain (CT-S) after continuous selection for 24 generations. Life table results showed a significant reduction in the relative fitness (0.847) of CT-R strain compared to the CT-S strain of A. gossypii. The developmental duration, oviposition days, total pre-oviposition period (TPOP), longevity, and fecundity of CT-R strain were found to be significantly lower when compared to CT-S strain. The demographic parameters, including the intrinsic rate of increase (r), finite rate of increase (λ), net reproductive rate (R0), and mean generation time (T) were also significantly decreased in CT-R strain compared to the CT-S strain. Both the reproductive and survival rates were affected by clothianidin resistance in CT-R strain compared with the CT-S strain of A. gossypii. Overall, our results demonstrate that in-depth knowledge about the trade-off at play between resistance degree and fitness cost might be useful to design resistance management strategies against A. gossypii.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Aging / physiology
  • Animals
  • Aphids / drug effects
  • Aphids / genetics*
  • Aphids / growth & development
  • Cucurbitaceae / parasitology*
  • Female
  • Fertility
  • Genetic Fitness*
  • Guanidines / toxicity*
  • Insecticide Resistance / genetics*
  • Life Cycle Stages / drug effects
  • Neonicotinoids / toxicity*
  • Reproduction / drug effects
  • Survival Analysis
  • Thiazoles / toxicity*

Substances

  • Guanidines
  • Neonicotinoids
  • Thiazoles
  • clothianidin

Grants and funding

This work was financially supported by the National Key Research and Development Program of China (2016YFD0200500) and the National Natural Science Foundation of China (31272077).