10:00 AM - 10:15 AM
[G-05] Further improvement of Orius strigicollis with extended giving-up time
Augmentative release of Orius strigicollis has been widely conducted in Japan. However, O. strigicollis frequently faces challenges in establishing populations in crop fields with low insect pest densities because scarcity of prey leads to starvation or dispersal. To overcome the challenges, we produced selected lines with an extended giving-up time through artificial selection. In greenhouse trials, our previous study showed that the selected lines remained on eggplants longer than the wild-type lines and demonstrated remarkable insect pest control efficacy. In this study, we aimed to improve the selected lines further. We conducted de novo RNA-seq assembly and identified differentially expressed genes. Promising useful genes including genes related to food-searching behavior were confirmed by RT-qPCR. Currently, we are examining the functions of these genes and their effect on phenotypes by RNAi. Plus, we are conducting selective breeding based on these useful gene expression levels.