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About the Authors:
Michael E. Sparks
Affiliation: United States Department of Agriculture -ARS Invasive Insect Biocontrol and Behavior Laboratory, Beltsville, Maryland, United States of America
Michael B. Blackburn
Affiliation: United States Department of Agriculture -ARS Invasive Insect Biocontrol and Behavior Laboratory, Beltsville, Maryland, United States of America
Daniel Kuhar
Affiliation: United States Department of Agriculture -ARS Invasive Insect Biocontrol and Behavior Laboratory, Beltsville, Maryland, United States of America
Dawn E. Gundersen-Rindal
* E-mail: [email protected]
Affiliation: United States Department of Agriculture -ARS Invasive Insect Biocontrol and Behavior Laboratory, Beltsville, Maryland, United States of America
Introduction
Lymantria dispar (Lepidoptera: Erebidae), the gypsy moth, is the most serious insect pest of forest and shade trees in the Northeastern United States. The gypsy moth is a polyphagous insect; North American larval populations feed on over 300 different shrub and tree species [1], including forest, shade, ornamental and fruit trees and shrubs. Gypsy moth larvae have been responsible for defoliating an average of 3.0 million forested acres per year over the past 25 years, as well as trees and shrubs in residential areas, causing significant economic impacts. Great effort has been made to slow the spread, yet attempts to fully contain this insect pest have had variable success and its range has continued to expand into the Midwest and South. Several control measures have been implemented in the U.S. to reduce gypsy moth spread, including stringent quarantine practices, augmentative release of natural enemies (mainly parasitoids), application of chemical pesticides (diflubenzuron = Dimilin®), use of a chemical pheromone for mating disruption (Disparlure), or ground or aerial application of formulations containing either a specific nucleopolyhedrovirus (Gypchek®) or the gram-positive soil bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt). These microbe-based bioinsecticides have been used with variable success and bioinsecticide resistance has evolved rapidly in gypsy moth larval populations; the reasons for this are currently unknown. Limited genetic information exists for L. dispar. The only large publicly available data set for gypsy moth-associated genes was recently generated by characterizing the transcriptome from the L. dispar-derived cell line IPLB-Ld652Y [2]; however, this L. dispar cell line does not completely reflect the gene and gene systems expressed by whole insect larvae. Comprehensive genetic evaluations are needed to reveal genetic sensitivities of the pest, improve bioinsecticide selection, recognize genes that are...