Mapping and quantitative trait locus (QTLs) associated with resistance to insecticides and Bt toxin in Spodoptera frugiperda (J. e. Smith)

Abstract

Spodoptera frugiperda (J. E. Smith) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) is a polyphagous species native from tropical regions of America. In Brazil, this insect is considered the most destructive pest from many crops, being responsible for significant damage in maize, soybean, cotton, rice and sorghum crops. The intensive use of insecticides and vast implementation of genetically modified plants expressing Bacillus thuringiensis (Berliner) proteins, have been responsible for increased of resistance of S. frugiperda to some insecticides and Bt proteins, which became a great challenge in IPM programs. Currently, molecular biology has been exploited in studies to discover and characterize several resistance mechanisms in insects. Thus, the development of genetic markers to characterize resistance alleles will help monitoring and predicting future field failures that may occur. Our main goal is to develop a genotyping system using "Next Generation Sequencing"(NGS) to construct a genetic map for S. frugiperda, and use the genetic map to identify QTLs associated with resistance to insecticides and Bt toxins. (AU)