Title:Tribolium castaneum: A Model for Investigating the Mode of Action of Insecticides and Mechanisms of Resistance
Volume: 26
Issue: 29
Author(s): Janin Rösner, Benedikt Wellmeyer and Hans Merzendorfer*
Affiliation:
- Department of Chemistry-Biology, University of Siegen, Adolf-Reichwein-Strasse 2, 57068 Siegen,Germany
Keywords:
ABC transporter, detoxification, efflux transporters, insecticide, metabolic resistance, pest model, target site resistance, Tribolium
castaneum.
Abstract: The red flour beetle, Tribolium castaneum, is a worldwide insect pest of stored products, particularly
food grains, and a powerful model organism for developmental, physiological and applied entomological research
on coleopteran species. Among coleopterans, T. castaneum has the most fully sequenced and annotated genome
and consequently provides the most advanced genetic model of a coleopteran pest. The beetle is also easy to
culture and has a short generation time. Research on this beetle is further assisted by the availability of expressed
sequence tags and transcriptomic data. Most importantly, it exhibits a very robust response to systemic RNA
interference (RNAi), and a database of RNAi phenotypes (iBeetle) is available. Finally, classical transposonbased
techniques together with CRISPR/Cas-mediated gene knockout and genome editing allow the creation of
transgenic lines. As T. castaneum develops resistance rapidly to many classes of insecticides including organophosphates,
methyl carbamates, pyrethroids, neonicotinoids and insect growth regulators such as chitin synthesis
inhibitors, it is further a suitable test system for studying resistance mechanisms. In this review, we will summarize
recent advances in research focusing on the mode of action of insecticides and mechanisms of resistance
identified using T. castaneum as a pest model.