International Journal of Molecular Sciences Review Extraordinary Adaptive Plasticity of Colorado Potato Beetle: “Ten-Striped Spearman” in the Era of Biotechnological Warfare Aleksandar Cingel 1, Jelena Savi´c 1,*, Jelica Lazarevi´c 2, Tatjana Cosi´c´ 1, Martin Raspor 1, Ann Smigocki 3 and Slavica Ninkovi´c 1 1 Plant Physiology Department, Institute for Biological Research “Siniša Stankovi´c”,University of Belgrade, Bulevar despota Stefana 142, 11060 Belgrade, Serbia;
[email protected] (A.C.);
[email protected] (T.C.);´
[email protected] (M.R.);
[email protected] (S.N.) 2 Insect Physiology and Biochemistry Department, Institute for Biological Research “Siniša Stankovi´c”, University of Belgrade, Bulevar despota Stefana 142, 11060 Belgrade, Serbia;
[email protected] 3 Molecular Plant Pathology Laboratory, USDA-ARS, 10300 Baltimore Avenue, Beltsville, MD 20705, USA;
[email protected] * Correspondence:
[email protected]; Tel.: +381-11-2078-412 Academic Editor: Massimo Maffei Received: 29 July 2016; Accepted: 5 September 2016; Published: 13 September 2016 Abstract: Expanding from remote areas of Mexico to a worldwide scale, the ten-striped insect, the Colorado potato beetle (CPB, Leptinotarsa decemlineata Say), has risen from being an innocuous beetle to a prominent global pest. A diverse life cycle, phenotypic plasticity, adaptation to adverse conditions, and capability to detoxify or tolerate toxins make this insect appear to be virtually “indestructible”. With increasing advances in molecular biology, tools of biotechnological warfare were deployed to combat CPB. In the last three decades, genetically modified potato has created a new challenge for the beetle.