Adaptive evolution to the natural and anthropogenic environment in a global invasive crop pest, the cotton bollworm.

ABSTRACT: The cotton bollworm, Helicoverpa armigera, is set to become the most economically devastating crop pest in the world, threatening food security and biosafety as its range expands across the globe. Key to understanding the eco-evolutionary dynamics of H. armigera, and thus its management, is an understanding of population connectivity and the adaptations that allow the pest to establish in unique environments. We assembled a chromosome-scale reference genome and re-sequenced 503 individuals spanning the species range to delineate global patterns of connectivity, uncovering a previously cryptic population structure. Using a genome-wide association study (GWAS) and cell line expression of major effect loci, we show that adaptive changes in a temperature- and light-sensitive deve

SUBMITTER: Jin M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10300404 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature