Insecticides are widely used to control agricultural and structural pests, as well as insect vectors of disease. In response to the strong selection pressure exerted by insecticides, resistance has evolved in multiple species against numerous insecticides. This can lead to increased application rates and even control failures; impacting both crop production and control of human (and animal) diseases. Thus, understanding the genetic basis underpinning the evolution of resistance to insecticides is of fundamental importance. Using first a Genome Wide Association Study (GWAS) and then a nested GWAS approach with the Drosophila Genetic Reference Panel (DGRP), we were able to identify and validate a set of genes involved in the resistance to insecticides belonging to widely used classes: organophosphates (OPs, parathion) and pyrethroids (deltamethrin). The major effect genes were found under selection and we identified traces of soft sweep around their loci. Importantly, the alleles of the major effect genes we identified were not a particularity of the DGRP lines, but were found in two other wild-caught D. melanogaster populations. Our study, therefore, reveals the specific and conserved mechanisms of resistance to various insecticides. Using a “nested GWAS” (using the lines that did not carry the alleles responsible for the major effects) allowed us to identify and validate the lesser contribution of other genes in the genome. Altogether, our data reveal that the widely used OP and pyrethroid insecticides imposed a strong selection on natural insect populations from which we clearly identified the genetic basis of resistance.

Evolution of insecticide resistance is unpredictable: Lessons learned from the Drosophila Genetic Reference Panel

256th National Meeting (2018)

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