Abstract

The screwworm fly, Cochliomyia hominivorax (Coquerel), was successfully eradicated from the United States by the sterile insect technique (SIT). However, recent detection of these flies in the Florida Keys, and increased risk of introductions to the other areas warrant novel tools for management of the flies. Surveillance, a key component of screwworm control programs, utilizes traps baited with rotting liver or a blend of synthetic chemicals such as swormlure-4. In this work, we evaluated the olfactory physiology of the screwworm fly and compared it with the non-obligate ectoparasitic secondary screwworm flies, C. macellaria, that invade necrotic wound and feed on dead tissue. These two species occur in geographically overlapping regions. C. macellaria, along with other blowflies such as the exotic C. megacephala, greatly outnumber C. hominivorax in the existing monitoring traps. Olfactory responses to swormlure-4 constituents between sex and mating status (mated vs unmated) in both species were recorded and compared. Overall, responses measured by the antennograms offered insights into the comparative olfactory physiology of the two fly species. We also present detailed analyses of the antennal transcriptome by RNA-Sequencing that reveal significant differences between male and female screwworm flies. The differential expression patterns were confirmed by quantitative PCR. Taken together, this integrated study provides insights into the physiological and molecular correlates of the screwworm’s attraction to wounds, and identifies molecular targets that will aid in the development of odorant-based fly management strategies.

Details

Title
Physiological and molecular correlates of the screwworm fly attraction to wound and animal odors
Author
Hickner, Paul V 1 ; Mittapalli Omprakash 1 ; Subramoniam Anjana 1 ; Sagel Agustin 2 ; Watson, Wes 3 ; Scott, Maxwell J 3   VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; Arp, Alex P 4 ; de León Adalberto A Pérez 4 ; Zainulabeuddin, Syed 1   VIAFID ORCID Logo 

 University of Kentucky, Department of Entomology, Lexington, USA (GRID:grid.266539.d) (ISNI:0000 0004 1936 8438) 
 USDA, Agricultural Research Service, Knipling-Bushland U.S. Livestock Insects Research Laboratory and Veterinary Pest Genomics Center, Screwworm Research Site, Pacora, Panama (GRID:grid.266539.d) 
 North Carolina State University, Department of Entomology and Plant Pathology, Raleigh, USA (GRID:grid.40803.3f) (ISNI:0000 0001 2173 6074) 
 USDA, Agricultural Research Service, Knipling-Bushland U.S. Livestock Insects Research Laboratory and Veterinary Pest Genomics Center, Kerrville, USA (GRID:grid.463419.d) (ISNI:0000 0001 0946 3608) 
Publication year
2020
Publication date
2020
Publisher
Nature Publishing Group
e-ISSN
20452322
Source type
Scholarly Journal
Language of publication
English
ProQuest document ID
2473269914
Copyright
© The Author(s) 2020. This work is published under http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ (the “License”). Notwithstanding the ProQuest Terms and Conditions, you may use this content in accordance with the terms of the License.