Insertional mutagenesis of a coleopteran stored grain pest, Tribolium castaneum

Funding Agency: USDA

PD and CoPDs: Susan Brown, Rob Denell, Richard Beeman, Martin Klingler, and Ernst Wimmer

Project Summary:

The red flour beetle Tribolium castaneum is a cosmopolitan pest of stored grain that we have developed into a highly sophisticated genetic model organism. The genetic and genomic tools currently available for Tribolium include transformation systems based on the transposons piggyBac and Minos. We are exploiting these transformation systems to perform large-scale insertional mutagenesis and enhancer detection. Genome-wide transposon mutagenesis is being performed in labs in Manhattan, Göttingen, and Erlangen with the goal of generating and characterizing over 15,000 insertion lines. These lines will be screened for phenotypes relevant to insect pest management, such as pesticide resistance, aggregation behavior, and semiochemical production. Additionally, identified enhancers will be investigated for their usefulness in developing transgene-based insect control applications. This functional genomics approach will provide the basis for the discovery of stage- and tissue-specifically expressed genes and will make it possible to directly link DNA sequence information to biological and ecological functions. Genes discovered in this work will provide insight into resistance mechanisms as well as biosynthetic pathways and will allow the development of novel pest management strategies relevant to Tribolium, other beetles, and more distantly related insect pests.