Martinelli T, Lauria M, Mascheretti I, Goggioli D, Guidi S, Turillazzi F, Gagnarli E, Tarchi F, Roversi P F, Simoni S
Consiglio per la ricerca in agricoltura e l'analisi dell'economia agraria - Centro di Ricerca Difesa e Certificazione (CREA-DC), Via di Lanciola 12, Firenze, A-50125, Italy.
Consiglio nazionale delle ricerche- Istituto di biologia e biotecnologia agraria (CNR-IBBA), via A. Corti, Milano, 12 - 20133, Italy.
Exp Appl Acarol. 2025 Jul 11;95(2):20. doi: 10.1007/s10493-025-01042-6.
Tetranychus urticae Koch, commonly known as the two-spotted spider mite, is a serious threat to many crop species. This species can rapidly develop resistance to acaricides, rendering chemical control of the mite extremely difficult. In the present study, a homozygous mite population of T. urticae was established, and the potential involvement of transgenerational phenotypic plasticity in the development of resistance to the acaricide abamectin was investigated. The mite methylome was analyzed for the first time to evaluate the possible role of this epigenetic mark in the observed response to abamectin. The results showed a significant maladaptive transgenerational phenotypic response. Mites, previously exposed to abamectin treatments for seven consecutive generations, showed lower acaricide resistance compared to mites that were never treated with abamectin. This phenotype persisted for two consecutive generations after the termination of abamectin exposure. Methylome analysis of treated and untreated mite groups revealed that this species possessed an extremely low level of cytosine methylation, if any, suggesting that this epigenetic mark is unlikely to be involved in the transgenerational response. Overall, the results show that transgenerational phenotypic plasticity can significantly modify the phenotype of T. urticae. However, under the conditions tested, transgenerational phenotypic plasticity is not directly involved in the development of abamectin resistance. Further work is needed to better understand how transgenerational phenotypes are involved in the response of T. urticae to acaricides.
二斑叶螨（Tetranychus urticae Koch），通常被称为二斑叶螨，是许多作物品种的严重威胁。该物种能够迅速对杀螨剂产生抗性，使得对该螨的化学防治极其困难。在本研究中，建立了一个纯合的二斑叶螨种群，并研究了跨代表型可塑性在对杀螨剂阿维菌素抗性发展中的潜在作用。首次分析了叶螨的甲基化组，以评估这种表观遗传标记在观察到的对阿维菌素反应中的可能作用。结果显示出显著的适应不良跨代表型反应。与从未用阿维菌素处理过的叶螨相比，之前连续七代接受阿维菌素处理的叶螨对杀螨剂的抗性较低。在阿维菌素暴露终止后，这种表型持续了连续两代。对处理和未处理的叶螨组进行的甲基化组分析表明，该物种的胞嘧啶甲基化水平极低（如果有的话），这表明这种表观遗传标记不太可能参与跨代反应。总体而言，结果表明跨代表型可塑性可以显著改变二斑叶螨的表型。然而，在所测试的条件下，跨代表型可塑性并不直接参与阿维菌素抗性的发展。需要进一步开展工作，以更好地了解跨代表型如何参与二斑叶螨对杀螨剂的反应。
