Effective specialist or jack of all trades? Experimental evolution of a crop pest in fluctuating and stable environments.

ABSTRACT: Understanding pest evolution in agricultural systems is crucial for developing effective and innovative pest control strategies. Types of cultivation, such as crop monocultures versus polycultures or crop rotation, may act as a selective pressure on pests' capability to exploit the host's resources. In this study, we examined the herbivorous mite Aceria tosichella (commonly known as wheat curl mite), a widespread wheat pest, to understand how fluctuating versus stable environments influence its niche breadth and ability to utilize different host plant species. We subjected a wheat-bred mite population to replicated experimental evolution in a single-host environment (either wheat or barley), or in an alternation between these two plant species every three mite generations. Next, we

SUBMITTER: Skoracka A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9624081 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature