Abstract
Yeasts play an important role in the life cycle and biology of the insect pest Drosophila suzukii (Matsumura), commonly known as the spotted wing drosophila (SWD). Adult and larvae of this species are known to feed and benefit from yeast in their diet. In addition, yeasts were found to be attractive to SWD and were repeatedly found to be associated with SWD. Among those, Hanseniaspora uvarum is the most commonly mentioned. The present study explores the chemical composition and the effects of three H. uvarum strains and five yeast species (Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Candida sp., Issatchenkia terricola, Metschnikowia pulcherrima and Saccharomycopsis vini) in the diet of SWD adults. The different yeast species used in this study influenced mortality, fecundity and ingestion by SWD females. Hanseniaspora uvarum and S. vini were preferably ingested and increased fecundity of SWD females. The intra- and extracellular concentrations of compounds, such as amino acids, carbohydrates, sugar alcohols and organic acids, produced or consumed by yeasts differed among the species. Knowledge of the interaction of different yeast species with SWD and specific differences in the profile of compounds of yeast can help to improve the development of control strategies against the insect pest by promoting the ingestion of attract-and-kill formulations based on the combinations of yeasts and an appropriate insecticide.
Highlights
Yeasts play an important role in the interaction with Drosophila flies
In the MEA and PDA assays over all cages containing yeast cultures grown on MEA or PDA (n = 21 + 21), on average (± SD) 15.3 ± 15.4% of the eggs were laid into the yeast culture (1), 65.5 ± 22.0% into the water agar (2) and 19.2 ± 13.4% into the piece of folded paper (3)
It was assumed that the different surfaces of the yeast colonies depending on the yeast species had no effect on the total oviposition given that most eggs were laid in the water agar in all yeast-containing cages
Summary
Yeasts play an important role in the interaction with Drosophila flies. They constitute a food source and produce volatile compounds attractive to the insect. Oviposition and host fruit suitability for larval development are influenced by several factors, including fruit species preferences (Abraham et al 2015; Bellamy et al 2013; Cloonan et al 2018; Lee et al 2011); fruit characteristics, such as sugar content, pH or firmness (Arnó et al 2016; Burrack et al 2013; Lee et al 2015); and protein and carbohydrate content (Hardin et al 2015) In their habitat, SWD flies feed on damaged fruits and other sugar sources, including the yeast flora naturally growing on sugar-rich reserves (Mitsui et al 2010; Tochen et al 2016; Walsh et al 2011). To characterize the quality of the various nutrient sources and to explain the findings of the insect trials, the content of carbohydrates, amino acids, sugar alcohols and organic acids in the yeast fermentation broths was measured
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