BR2CSFB - A toolkit for breeding resistance to adult and larval herbivory by the cabbage stem flea beetle

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Loss of chemical controls for cabbage stem flea beetle (CSFB; Psylliodes chrysocephala) and decline in OSR cropping area represent a serious risk to the viability of the UK OSR industry. Integrated pest management strategies offer an alternative to chemical control. Resistant cultivars are central to this approach.
Through controlled feeding studies and field trials we have identified variation for adult CSFB feeding within a DFFS of B. napus. Controlled larval infestation studies have also identified variation in the numbers of emerging adult CSFB. These data indicate that some lines of B. napus carry genes which 1) deter adult CSFB feeding and 2) confer antibiosis resistance against larval infestation. If identified, this variation can be exploited to breed OSR resistant to CSFB.
Here we describe a program to identify the genetic variation underlying these resistance traits and develop our understanding of interactions between plants and chewing beetle pests at adult and larval stages. Using Associative Transcriptomics, we have successfully identified variation at two loci associated with increased adult CSFB palatability which contain genes with known functions in plant defence signalling. This approach will be combined with biparental mapping and genome re-sequencing, to identify further loci associated with reduced adult palatability and larval antibiosis resistance. Using transcriptome time course analysis, larval development studies and metabolomic analysis, we will form an understanding of the underlying response of OSR to CSFB and the resulting effects on insect development, allowing us to begin to unravel the mechanisms underlying the observed CSFB resistance. Key genes implicated in resistance and defence responses will be investigated using candidate gene studies. These data will allow us to develop and test hypotheses which can be exploited in collaboration with our breeding partners for genetic plant protection against this key agricultural pest.