Abstract
Bradysia odoriphaga and Bradysia difformis are devastating pests of vegetable, ornamental crops and edible mushrooms causing significant losses. Temperature may be an important factor restricting their population abundance in the summer. To determine the effects of short-term heat shock on adults, their survival, longevity and fecundity data were collected, and antioxidant responses and heat shock protein expression levels were examined. Our results indicated that the survival rates of Bradysia adults decreased rapidly after heat shock ≥36 °C, and the longevity and reproductive capacities were significantly inhibited, indicating that short-term heat shock had lethal and sub-lethal effects. Moreover, the lipid peroxidation levels of B. difformis and B. odoriphaga increased dramatically at 36 °C and 38 °C, respectively. Four antioxidant enzymes activities of B. odoriphaga were greater than those of B. difformis at 38 °C. Additionally, hsp70 and hsp90 expression levels significantly increased after heat stress, and higher expression levels of B. difformis and B. odoriphaga were discovered at 36 and 38 °C respectively, indicating their different heat tolerance levels. Overall, short-term heat shock (≥36 °C) caused significantly adverse effects on Bradysia adults, indicating that it could be applied in pest control, and antioxidant system and hsp genes played important roles in their heat tolerance levels.
Highlights
Insects, typical small-bodied poikilotherms, are affected by environmental factors that limit their abundance and distribution
The heat shock at 36 °C for 1 h resulted in B. difformis survival rates of 80% and 84%, while B. odoriphaga was not affected
When the temperature increased to 38 °C, the B. odoriphaga survival rates were 53% and 62%, while those of B. difformis were 28% and 34%, and at 40 °C, no B. difformis survived, while the B. odoriphaga survival rates were 11% and 19%
Summary
Typical small-bodied poikilotherms, are affected by environmental factors that limit their abundance and distribution. Many studies have measured antioxidant responses under thermal stress conditions as indicators of the important physiological adaptation processes of insects, including Corythucha ciliata[23], Bactrocera dorsalis[24] and Plutella xylostella[25]. Bradysia odoriphaga Yang et Zhang and Bradysia difformis Frey, two main root maggot flies, are devastating pests of liliaceous vegetables, flowers and edible fungi, and they can coexist on the same host plant in protected cultivation or in open fields[29,30,31,32] Their larvae tend to aggregate to attack and damage roots and corm tissues, resulting in moisture loss and even death[31,33,34]. To manage root maggot flies efficiently in Chinese chive fields, it is important to clarify the impact of high temperature on the survival and fecundity of these pests, which will aid in predicting their occurrences
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