The global changes underway include climate disruption, changes in land use, as well as changes in agricultural practices (notably reduced inputs) and biological invasions. These impose new constraints on insect populations, to which species sometimes respond rapidly. The research work carried out within Area 2 aims to analyse and understand the evolutionary trajectories of the species studied (demography, adaptations, history of invasions), the role of associated microbiota in these trajectories, and to test the sustainability of several innovative management methods, such as the sterile insect technique, agroecological solutions (e.g. push-pull repulsion-attraction strategies) and preventive locust control tools. Theoretical or simulation-based approaches are also being developed to provide new tools for analysing genomic diversity or anticipating crises.
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One of the challenges of our research is to move from analysing the past to predicting future trajectories. |
Research focuses on insects of interest to agronomy and forestry, both native (moths, processionaries, locusts) and invasive (fruit flies, bark beetles, Asian ladybird beetles). They include both fundamental and highly finalised approaches. They involve complementary disciplines and approaches, such as theoretical or statistical development, population genomics, phenotyping and experimental evolution. They concern both natural populations collected or monitored in the field and experimental populations bred under controlled conditions.
Developing strategies to control and/or manage pest populations requires in-depth knowledge of their evolutionary history. In the current context of a gradual reduction in the use of pesticides, it is vital to: (i) identify the geographical origin of pest populations, which is a prerequisite for characterising natural enemies that can then be used as biological control agents; (ii) reconstruct the routes taken by exotic pest species to identify the historical, demographic and genetic factors responsible for the evolutionary success of these populations; (iii) to understand the mechanisms involved in the adaptation of phytophages to their host plants (e.g. in the corn borer Ostrinia nubilalis), or more generally in the expression of their life history traits (e.g. phenology in the pine processionary Thaumetopoea pityocampa; phase polyphenism in the desert locust Schistocerca gregaria), in order to anticipate possible evolutionary dynamics, particularly in the face of changes in agricultural practices and global change.
Population genetics provides powerful tools for inferring evolutionary history based on the analysis of genetic polymorphism. CBGP has widely recognised skills in this field. We are making the most of our mastery and expertise in the technologies associated with the new generations of high-throughput sequencing and genotyping (both in terms of their implementation in the laboratory and their statistical analysis) to characterise the evolutionary history of pest populations. At the same time, we aim to strengthen our skills in quantitative and evolutionary genetics. The aim is to combine genome analysis with the detailed characterisation of phenotypes, in order to determine the genetic basis of the adaptation of insect pests to their biotic and abiotic environment.
Another area of research in Area 2 aims to gain a better understanding of the contemporary dynamics of pest populations. This involves, for example, measurements of life history traits in controlled environments, which provide indirect information on the demography of a species and the role of ecological factors in demographic changes (e.g. the influence of plant cover on phase polyphenism in locusts). At the same time, the development of innovative spatial genetics methods will make it possible to characterise the dispersal capacities of organisms and the role of spatial heterogeneity in the landscape in the fine structuring of populations (e.g. the effect of the landscape and agricultural practices on the population dynamics of the oriental fruit fly Bactrocera dorsalis). All these indirect inferences (based on both genetic and non-genetic approaches) will make it possible to construct spatially explicit mechanistic models of population dynamics, incorporating the knowledge acquired about the life-history traits of species. In particular, these mechanistic models will make it possible to test in silico the effectiveness of alternative techniques to the use of plant protection products for pest management. One of these techniques, entomovectoring, involves using insects to spread biopesticides in pest populations (e.g. using sterile male oriental fruit flies to spread the entomopathogenic fungus Metarhizium).
In addition to indirectly reconstructing the history of populations or their demography, continuing evolution experiments under controlled conditions in the laboratory will provide a better understanding of the dynamics of adaptation and the importance of the constraints and evolutionary compromises that species face, particularly during biological invasions (e.g. in the Asian ladybird Harmonia axyridis and the spotted wing drosophila Drosophila suzukii). Another context in which the study of these dynamics of rapid evolution takes on its full meaning concerns the assessment of the risks associated with the implementation of genetic forcing techniques (gene drive) for the management of pests. These techniques involve the release of genetically modified organisms designed to propagate a variant of interest (e.g. a mutation that reduces fertility) in natural populations. This emerging method of population control raises a number of scientific and societal questions. We are therefore proposing to develop new research programmes aimed at studying the evolutionary dynamics of these genetic constructs in natural populations, in order to better assess the associated environmental risks (emergence of resistance, spread by gene flow in non-target populations, transfers between species, etc.).
Characterising insect microbial communities and gaining a better understanding of the evolutionary ecology of interactions in multi-trophic systems (microbes–insects–host plants) can contribute to the development of insect pest management strategies by exploiting or manipulating these interactions. For example, a better understanding of the role of the intestinal microbiota of phytophagous insects in adaptation to the host plant would make it possible to propose control strategies by manipulating the microbial communities involved (e.g. in the spotted wing drosophila D. suzukii, the European corn borer O. nubilalis or the pine processionary T. pityocampa). In other contexts, the study of interactions between microbes and their hosts could lead to the development of « natural repellents » made up of microbial cocktails, biological control using viral agents, and control by manipulating the biological functions of the pest itself (linked, for example, to immunity).
Project manager: Denise Navia
Funding: BIOPOLIS, UM, EU Horizons H2020
This invasion ecology project focus on the multitrophic interactions involving terrestrial arthropods (insects and mites), both phytophagous and predators/parasitoids, and alien plants (invasive or not) in the Azores archipelago.
Main questions addressed are:
On the arhtropod communities associated with alien plants: Do alien plants present in the Azores island host alien herbivore arthropods and what is the associated diversity? Have endemic phytophagous arthropods adapted to invasive plants in the Azores islands and what is the associated diversity?
On the tritrophic interactions: Are tritrophic interactions similar on alien and endemic/naturalized host plants? Do ecosystem anthropogenic influences affect communities and its multitrophic interactions and how?
Project Coordinator: Denise Navia
Funding: Défi-Clé VINID’OCC
Soil mites represent one of the most abundant and diverse groups within the mesofauna. They play a crucial role in interactions with micro-, meso-, and even macrofauna, contributing directly or indirectly to organic matter decomposition, nutrient cycling, hydrology, and the regulation of pest populations. Despite their multifunctional role in agroecosystems, including vineyards, soil mites have been largely overlooked.
This project aims to address this gap through two specific objectives: (i) to evaluate the effects of vineyard diversification (cover crops and agroforestry systems) and management practices (inputs and level of mechanization) on the functional diversity of predatory soil mite communities and their potential prey (collembolans, insects, nematodes); and (ii) to determine the predation of the most common predatory soil mites in vineyards and assess their potential as biological control agents. The study will be conducted within the SALSA experimental system, located at Domaine du Chapitre, Villeneuve-lès-Maguelone (Hérault, France).
https://vinidocc.edu.umontpellier.fr/soutien-a-la-recherche/les-projets-complementaires/
Project manager : Cyril Piou
Funding: French Development Agency (AFD) through the United Nations Food and Agriculture Agency (FAO)
The objectives of this project are:
Project manager: Marie-Pierre Chapuis
Funding: ANR-PRC
We are developing a landscape genetics approach that takes account of the specific features of agro-ecological and socio-technical systems, in order to provide integrated management stakeholders with in-depth knowledge of crop pest population dynamics (e.g. dispersal processes), information that is essential for designing collective strategies.
https://passion-entomologie.fr/agroecologie-cirad-senegal
Project manager: Enric Frago
Funding: ANR PRCE
We aim at using natural enemy combinations to find the best cocktails to control aphids and spider-mites. Best cocktails imply better pest suppression, but also long-term stability. We will perform experiments in the laboratory and build theoretical models to find best cocktails that we will validate in the field through mass releases in commercial greenhouses.
https://sites.google.com/site/enricfrago/enemycocktail-project
Project managers: Isabelle Masneuf Pomarede (UMR Oenology) & Simon Fellous (co-supervision of Paul Hubner’s PhD)
Funding: Meta-programme Holoflux et Région Occitanie
With the rise of so-called ‘natural’ wines, it has become essential to identify the processes governing spontaneous fermentation. This fermentation depends on the micro-organisms present on and in the fruit. It is therefore essential to uncover the origins of the vine microbiota, the flows between the winery and the vineyard, and the role of insects in these processes, a role that is often put forward but never fully understood.
We will quantify, in the field, the processes of colonisation of the grape berry. The hypotheses identified will be tested experimentally, in a mesocosm and in the vineyard, using experiments involving the vection of target microorganisms by Drosophila flies. This work will be based on an analysis of the effects of the composition of the microbiota on wine quality in order to focus investigations on the species that determine it.
This dual approach to ecology and oenology will provide the unique knowledge needed for agro-ecological management and the controlled production of natural wines.
Project manager: Marie-Pierre Chapuis
Funding: ANSES
We are developing innovative molecular tools that are as simple, rapid and cost-effective as possible, in order to provide those involved in monitoring fruit flies in Europe with an operational framework that will enable them to ensure the correct identification of the species and to provide information on the geographical origin of invasive individuals, knowledge of which is necessary in order to direct the control effort towards the pathways and entry points.
Project managers: Jérôme Enjalbert (GQE) and Aline Fugeray-Scarbel (GAEL), Jean-François Martin
Fundinf: Investissement d’avenir : Cultiver et Protéger Autrement
The MoBiDiv project aims to gain a better understanding of the effects of the use of varietal mixtures on reducing pesticide use and the mechanisms of interaction between plants within mixtures. The project focuses on wheat, peas and forage plants. The aim is to develop tools for selecting varieties specially adapted for use in mixtures. The project will also propose tools to aid decision-making on the choice of mixtures. Finally, the project will study scenarios for the reorganisation of the seed sector and changes in regulations, research funding and the distribution of activities between players, to enable the development of seed mixtures.
Project managers: CTIFL & Simon Fellous
Funding: ECOPHYTO
The cherry plan aims to renew approaches to the management of a pest, Drosophila suzukii, in a context of change and constraints, ultimately leading to integrated management for the cherry sector.
This will be based primarily on regulating pest populations upstream of control measures and using alternatives to synthetic plant protection products. Emphasis is placed on combining methods (physical barriers, control strategies, biocontrol, mass trapping, etc.) and implementing prophylactic and population management measures, such as acclimatising parasitoids or using the sterile insect technique, thus exploring all the levers that can be mobilised to limit the impact of Drosophila suzukii.
Project managers: Denise Navia et Jean-Pierre Rossi
Funding: IB2023-SPE INRAE
This project focuses on two plant health risk factors: biological invasions and climate change. Focusing on mite pests, it proposes an approach to:
Project manager: Simon Fellous
Funding ECOPHYTO
The aim of the project is to develop the Sterile Insect Technique (SIT) on the insect Drosophila suzukii. The aim is to deploy the SIT on 3 crops: strawberry, raspberry and cherry.
To this end, we are making progress on a number of fronts:
This work is punctuated by regular interaction with those involved in fruit production.
Project manager: Simon Fellous
Funding: France 2030 – Grand Défi Biocontrôle et Biostimulation
The cherry and soft fruit sectors have been struggling since the arrival of the spotted wing drosophila (Drosophila suzukii) and the gradual ban of historically used insecticides. In response, stakeholders of the value-chains and the R&D unite through a Territory of Co-innovation approach, both national and centered on the Monts du Lyonnais region, a historically innovative and leading territory.
The aim of TerCo CFR is to integrate and facilitate the appropriation of the numerous insect management tools that are already available or currently under development (in France, these tools are currently being developed within the projects AID OFB cherry, PARSADAs Optimistii, Quandinski, and Mobaclim; and by companies such as Agriodor and Inceres, among others) following an Integrated Pest Management approach (i.e. IPM). We follow an agronomic and systems design approach. It is based on the principle that professionals of the value chains are best positioned to design and test in-situ new integrated management schemes tailored to their specific situations and capable of ensuring the sustainability of fruit production. In this project, the role of R&D organizations, both private and public, is to provide methodological support and scientific knowledge to assist professionals who (1) test the conditions of use of emerging biocontrol levers in the pilot area; (2) implement new proven levers in their current management strategies at the national level; and (3) undertake the design and field-testing of new integrated management strategies adapted to their specific situations.
Project manager: Enric Frago (CBGP) & Bruno PARIS (ASTREDHOR)
Funding: PARSADA – FranceAgriMer
Thrips are among the major pests in horticulture, and the Trans’Thrips project aims to develop innovative approaches for their management as well as improve the transfer of solutions to professionals. The CBGP is specifically involved in the INTEGRAT and RESIST actions. INTEGRAT will assess, across different scales (micro- and mesocosms), the most effective combinations of biocontrol agents, including pathogens and predators, as well as their optimal conditions for application. RESIST will analyze thrips resistance to control methods, considering both genetic resistance and the role of symbionts.
Project manager: Denise Navia
Funding: PNDV Plan National Dépérissement du Vignoble
The project focuses on the Grapevine Pinot Gris virus pathosystem – the Colomerus vitis-vigne mite vector. The objectives of this project are to answer questions that are still unanswered in order to understand and therefore help manage this ’emergence’: the real link between virus and disease (Koch’s postulates); improving our knowledge of the only vector known to date; and lastly, measuring the real agronomic impact of this virus on the one hand and of Pinot Gris disease on the other.
https://www.plan-deperissement-vigne.fr/recherches/programmes-de-recherche/vigye
