Temperature affects the tolerance of Liriomyza trifolii to insecticide abamectin

The leafminer fly, Liriomyza trifolii, is an invasive pest of horticultural and vegetable crops that possesses a robust competitive ability when compared to congeneric species, especially with respect to temperature and insecticide tolerance. Abamectin, which is commonly used to control L. trifolii in the field, was selected as the target insecticide in this study. Our objective was to study the effect of abamectin and high temperature stress on L. trifolii mortality and the expression of genes encoding cytochrome P450 (CYP450s) and heat shock proteins (Hsps) by quantitative real-time reverse transcriptase PCR (qRT-PCR). When L. trifolii was exposed to abamectin followed by exposure to 40 °C (LC50 +HT40), mortality showed a significant increase, whereas exposure to 40 ℃ followed by abamectin (HT40+LC50) reduced mortality relative to abamectin or HT40 alone. Expression of three CYP450s in the CYP4 family was highest in the HT40+LC50 treatment, followed by the LC50+HT40 treatment. The expression levels of CYP18A1 (CYP18 family) were not significantly different among treatments, and CYP301A1 (CYP301 family) was only sensitive to temperature (HT40). The expression of five sHsps showed similar expression patterns and were highly responsive to the LC50+HT40 treatment, followed by the HT40 and HT40+LC50 treatments. Based on CYP450s and Hsps expression levels, our findings that suggest that L. trifolii exhibits adaptive cross-tolerance to high temperature and abamectin. This study provides a framework for selecting the most effective application time for abamectin with respect to controlling L. trifolii, which will ultimately reduce the overuse of pesticides.