Crucifer flea beetles (Phyllotreta cruciferae) are insect pests which causes widespread damage to rapeseed crops (Brassica napus and B. rapa) in Canada. Sources of plant resistance are limited to a few weedy species and are of little practical use in a breeding program. Flea beetles also feed enthusiastically on Arabidopsis thaliani, a model crucifer plant species. That led us to develop a model laboratory seedling bioassay, which we used previously to screen a range of Arabidopsis wild ecovars for flea beetle feeding. Research programs around the world have also evolved to develop a variety of mutations in Arabidopsis. This has enabled us to broaden the scope when screening germplasm for resistance and resulted in the discovery of several induced mutations which display altered flea beetle feeding behavior.
Species 1: Coleoptera Chrysomelidae Phyllotreta cruciferae (flea beetle)
Species 3: Arabidopsis thaliani (cress)
Keywords: screening, host plant resistance
The ESA 2001 Annual Meeting - 2001: An Entomological Odyssey of ESA