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Knowledge is Power in the Fight Against Resistance

Dr David Mota-Sanchez KNOWLEDGE IS POWER IN THE FIGHT AGAINST PESTICIDE RESISTANCE

First recognised over a century ago, the resistance of and other to is a growing problem, with implications for crop production and human health on a global scale. Dr David Mota-Sanchez and his team at Michigan State University are creating a worldwide, online database of resistance cases to catalogue the scale of the problem. Their work will aid decision makers in developing sustainable strategies to manage pests.

Furthermore, if certain chemical pesticides are overused and misused, they can have detrimental impacts on the environment and human health. Specifically, increased pesticide usage can have a negative impact on non- target species, and consequently, the of the wider environment. These non-target species may include pollinators or natural enemies of the targeted pests. In addition, high levels of pesticide residues might end up in food, soil and water. Pesticide Resistance other . However, many are also significant pests that threaten A Database of Knowledge From the production of potatoes and agricultural systems, human health rearing of livestock, to eradicating and health. This problem has Estimates of the impact of pesticide head lice and reducing cases of become even greater due to the growing resistance on crop production suggest – solving the problems created resistance of many arthropod species to losses of between $1.4 and $4 billion by arthropod pests has everyday the pesticides used to control them. to the US economy annually. However, applications that most of us have the danger that resistance poses probably never realised. Resistance, or ‘field-evolved resistance’, goes well beyond this economic is the micro-evolutionary process impact. In the face of a growing global Arthropods are invertebrates with an whereby exposure to a pesticide human population, the crop damage external skeleton, segmented body promotes genetic adaptation, resulting caused due to pesticide resistance and jointed legs. They are divided in populations of arthropods that are has significant implications for food into four groups: insects, myriapods less vulnerable to that pesticide. Such security. Dr David Mota-Sanchez and (including centipedes and millipedes), reduced vulnerability, or ‘practical his team at Michigan State University arachnids (including spiders and mites) resistance’, to a given pesticide might recognised that without better record and crustaceans. Arthropods play result in a loss of management keeping and resistance severity major roles in maintaining ecosystems, tools for current and future generations. assessments, the worldwide impact of where they act as pollinators, nutrient pesticide resistance might never be fully recyclers, scavengers and food for understood.

WWW.SCIENTIA.GLOBAL ‘The Arthropod Pesticide Resistance Database is perhaps one of the most complete databases tracking pesticide resistance cases from all over the world since 1914. It shows us that up until now, arthropods have developed resistance to more than 349 compounds, and there are now more than 17,000 cases of resistance amongst 612 species globally.’

Published cases of pesticide resistance Importantly, the database will go Dr Mota-Sanchez and his graduate have grown in frequency since the start beyond simply providing a platform students Rebeca Gutierrez-Moreno and of the twentieth century, when scientists for reporting of resistance incidence. Omar Posos determined the resistance first began to question whether insects It will also deliver a mechanism by levels of the fall armyworm to different could become resistant to chemical which experts can share resistance types of pesticides in populations from sprays. However, up-to-date records management strategies, tactics and Puerto Rico and Mexico. They found were not readily available or accessible tools to promote better agricultural that in particular, the Puerto Rican to a global audience. With this in mind, production, human and health, populations showed a remarkable Dr Mota-Sanchez and his predecessors international cooperation and scientific resistance to pesticides with many began to develop a database that could progress. different modes of action, whereas offer information from anywhere in the populations in Mexico showed varying world, while nearly instantaneously Dr Mota-Sanchez and his team urge levels of susceptibility to different updating and reporting the world’s researchers to publish their resistance compounds – possibly as a result of arthropod resistance status. They monitoring data in conjunction with the heterogeneity of pest management started by carrying out a comprehensive data on management practices. This patterns in the country. review of all of the reported cases of will accelerate progress in determining resistance over the last 100 years. They the most useful actions in response In Puerto Rico, the team found that then developed criteria to categorise to specific data on the magnitude, the pest is still resistant to two Bt resistance levels, and compiled the distribution and impact of resistance. proteins. Bt crops are those that have results of their review into a new online been genetically engineered to contain system, to which new records could be The Battle Against Fall Armyworm a (Bt) that quickly and easily added. As a result of encode a Bt protein, which offers their efforts, the Arthropod Pesticide The team’s research into a moth species the plants protection against the fall Resistance Database was born. called the fall armyworm demonstrates armyworm. This finding had significant how increased knowledge of the implications for controlling the fall ‘The Arthropod Pesticide Resistance mechanisms behind pesticide armyworm in the countries where Bt Database is perhaps one of the most resistance can be used to inform the crops are deployed. complete databases tracking pesticide development of new pest management In late 2018, the fall armyworm was resistance cases from all over the world strategies. Fall armyworm is one of the discovered in Myanmar for the first time, since 1914,’ says Dr Mota-Sanchez. ‘It main pests of corn in many areas of where it has the potential to create shows us that up until now, arthropods the American continents. As with many short and long-term impacts on crop have developed resistance to more than other examples, a reliance on pesticides production. Dr Mota-Sanchez and a 349 compounds, and there are now to control fall armyworm has led to the Michigan State University delegation more than 17,000 cases of resistance development of resistance. collaborated with the Department of amongst 612 species globally.’ in Myanmar, to help reduce

WWW.SCIENTIA.GLOBAL the player. In pest management, the situation is analogous, if we overuse and expose a particular tactic, such as , the result is the loss of these tools. Insects have a long history of overcoming pest management insecticides by developing to metabolise compounds or mutations at the target sites, rendering them innocuous.’

The IPM and Integrated Resistance Management (IRM) approaches that he advocates can reduce the potential for resistance simply by diversifying the mortality mechanisms triggered in target pest populations. IPM and IRM strategies can include the use of newly Evolution of arthropod pesticide resistance from 1914 to 2020. D Mota-Sanchez, and JC developed pesticides with novel modes Wise, 2020, The Arthropod Pesticide Resistance Database: www.pesticideresistance.org of biochemical action, together with other techniques such as rotations, the pest’s impact by utilising the lessons less pesticide and are no longer worried introducing natural enemies of the learned from their research in Puerto about the insects that previously pest, the use pheromones, host plant Rico and Mexico. damaged their yields. resistance, and the use of refuge to produce susceptible pest individuals. Fall armyworm populations have now As a result of their research, the also been discovered in neighbouring collaborators concluded that the high The development of more diverse countries in the region, including adoption of Bt in Mexico, as strategies for will become Bangladesh, Thailand, China, Indonesia part of an Integrated Pest Management ever more necessary as tighter and Australia, and the sustainable (IPM) program, has preserved the regulations might reduce the use management practices implemented susceptibility of pests to the Bt of some insecticides. Even in the and investigated in Myanmar could toxin, allowing cotton yields to increase absence of government restrictions help to reduce the impact of the pest in for more than two decades. on use, management of these countries as well. The Arthropod arthropod populations by chemical Pesticide Resistance Database provides Aside from the use of genetically means relies on our ability to discover the mechanism for recording and engineered crops, there is a huge range new mechanisms and develop new sharing this information at a global of new and old resistance avoidance chemicals at pace. Indeed, in the scale, to benefit all parties involved. strategies, tactics and tools available resistance arms race, the rate of for today’s crop farmers. However, in arthropod evolution might outstrip our An Integrated Approach many cases, those who make treatment ability to replace outmoded chemicals. decisions probably only choose a single Dr Mota-Sanchez also collaborated with tactic – usually pesticide applications – To avoid this, and alongside an IPM and colleagues from Mexico to study the to limit the damage caused by pests. Dr IRM approach that allows us to preserve impact of the long-term use of Bt cotton Mota-Sanchez warns that the sustained the effectiveness of new technologies, in Mexico. Prior to the use of Bt cotton use of a single tactic continues to we must also address the mix of in Mexico, it was common for cotton promote resistance. ecological, genetic, economic and fields to be sprayed with pesticides up socio-political factors that will improve to 18 times in a single season. Even with ‘The adoption of many tactics is similar the implementation of sustainable pest such an intensive application regime, to a chess game,’ he describes. ‘The management practices. The Arthropod growers still lost more than 30% of their movements of all the pieces on the Pesticide Resistance Database has a potential yield, mainly due to pests that board matter and must be coordinated pivotal part to play in providing the were highly resistant to pesticides. Since to win the game. Even a pawn can information and background necessary the introduction of Bt cotton more than make small favourable contributions. to implement such an approach, and 20 years ago, pest management in the If a chess player carelessly displays will have a key role in the future of country’s cotton industry has changed the queen, the most powerful piece in pesticide resistance management. substantially. Growers use around 50% the board, the opponent can defeat

WWW.SCIENTIA.GLOBAL Meet the researcher Dr David Mota-Sanchez Department of Entomology Michigan State University East Lansing, MI USA

Dr David Mota-Sanchez gained his PhD in the Department FUNDING of Entomology at Michigan State University. Here, he is currently an Assistant Professor of Entomology, where his The Insecticide Resistance Action Committee (IRAC) research focuses on the evolution of arthropod resistance to Generating Research and Extension to meet Economic and xenobiotics, insecticide toxicology and resistance of arthropods Environmental Needs (GREEEN) Project (Ag Bioresearch to xenobiotic compounds. The major insect pests he has Michigan State University) worked with include Colorado potato , fall armyworm, western flower , codling moth and oblique banded leaf FURTHER READING roller. He has also worked on the impact of insecticides on the environment and the movement of pesticides in plant R Gutiérrez-Moreno, D Mota-Sanchez, CA Blanco, ME Whalon, tissues. He is co-Director of the Arthropod Pesticide Resistance H Terán-Santofimio, JC Rodriguez-Maciel, C DiFonzo, Field- Database, which tracks cases of arthropod resistance globally, evolved resistance of the fall armyworm (: dating back to 1914. Dr Mota-Sanchez also served as an Noctuidae) to synthetic insecticides in Puerto Rico and Mexico, Embassy Science Fellow with the US State Department and Journal of Economic Entomology, 2019, 112, 792–802. USDA FSA in Mexico to increase awareness and understanding U Nava-Camberos, AP Terán-Vargas, S Aguilar-Medel, of genetically engineered crops, and is involved in training JL Martínez-Carrillo, VÁ Rodríguez, MG Rocha-Munive, S farmers in Integrated Pest Management. He is also involved in Castañeda-Contreras, E Niaves-Nava, D Mota-Sánchez, CA an extension project to train first and next generation of Latino Blanco, Agronomic and environmental Impacts of Bt cotton in farmers in Michigan, in addition to a research and extension Mexico, Journal of Integrated Pest Management, 2019, 10, 15. program focusing on the monarch butterfly in Michigan and DOI: 10.1093/jipm/pmz013. Mexico. PS Jørgensen, A Aktipis, Z Brown, Y Carriere, S Downes, R Dunn, CONTACT G Epstein, GB Frisvold, D Hawthorne, Y Grohn, G Tikaramsa, D Jasovsky, E Klein, G Lhermie, D Mota-Sanchez, C Omoto, M E: [email protected] Schlüter, MH Scott, D Wernli, SP Carroll, Antibiotic and pesticide W: www.canr.msu.edu/people/david_mota_sanchez susceptibility and the Anthropocene operating space. Nature Sustainability, 2018, 1, 632–641.

KEY COLLABORATORS BE Tabashnik, D Mota-Sanchez, ME Whalon, RM Hollingworth, Y Carriere, Defining Terms for Proactive Management of John Wise, Michigan State University Resistance to Bt Crops and Pesticides, Journal of Economic Barry Pittendrigh, Michigan State University Entomology, 2014, 107, 496. Living with Resistance Project: PS Jørgensen, A Aktipis, Z Brown, Y Carriere, S Downes, R Dunn, G Epstein, GB Frisvold, D Hawthorne, Y Grohn, G Tikaramsa, D Jasovsky, E Klein, G Lhermie, D Mota-Sanchez, C Omoto, M Schlüter, MH Scott, D Wernli, SP Carroll

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