Guy Smagghe - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

Papers by Guy Smagghe

Encyclopedia of Entomology, 2008

Entomovectoring for Precision Biocontrol and Enhanced Pollination of Crops, 2020

Managed pollinators are often used in agriculture and horticulture to increase crop yield in gree... more Managed pollinators are often used in agriculture and horticulture to increase crop yield in greenhouses and open fields. Over the past 25 years, research has been conducted to investigate the potential of these pollinators to perform a second task, being the dispersal of biological control agents (BCO) alongside with their pollination service. Especially the suppression of grey mould, caused by Botrytis cinerea, has received considerable attention in multiple crops such as strawberries, raspberries and blueberries. Trials to suppress insect pest species, such as tarnished plant bug and western flower thrips, have also been conducted in crops such as tomato, sweet pepper and sunflowers. In this chapter, an overview is provided of the current literature with several case studies investigating the potential of entomovectoring to suppress plant pathogens and pest species under greenhouse and open field conditions.

Archives of Insect Biochemistry and Physiology, 1996

Forests

The quality of acclimatized in vitro cultivated plants is essential to ensure good survival and g... more The quality of acclimatized in vitro cultivated plants is essential to ensure good survival and growth after planting in field conditions. After two months of acclimatization, this study revealed a significant variation in survival rate, shoot characteristics, root traits, and biomass features between 13 clones of Melia volkensii Gürke. A number of quality indices such as the Dickson Quality Index (DQI), shoot dry weight: root dry weight ratio (S:R), and sturdiness quotient (SQ) also showed a large variation. The survival rate was genotype-dependent, with an average of 85%. Extreme genotypes were tall, had long internodes, a lot of leaves, and a large leaf area. At the other side of the spectrum, there were small clones with short internodes and a reduced number of leaves and leaf areas. The high S:R values (>2) of the evaluated clones indicate an imbalance between the shoot and root system, negatively influencing the quality of the in vitro produced M. volkensii plants. The SQ f...

Insects, 2022

Insect short neuropeptide F (sNPF), an ortholog of prolactin-releasing peptide of invertebrates, ... more Insect short neuropeptide F (sNPF), an ortholog of prolactin-releasing peptide of invertebrates, regulates diverse biological processes, including feeding, olfaction, locomotion, and sleep homeostasis in insects. However, its function is still unclear in an important model insect and agricultural pest, the pea aphid (Acyrthosiphon pisum). Here, we investigated short neuropeptide F (ApsNPF) and its receptor (ApsNPFR) in A. pisum. The sNPF gene contains three exons and two long introns. In addition, the genome contains a single sNPF receptor with seven transmembrane domains. Stage- and tissue-specific transcript profiling by qRT-PCR revealed that ApsNPF and ApsNPFR were mainly expressed in the central nervous system. The receptor was also detected in antennae, midgut, and integument. The highest expression levels were found in first instar nymphs compared to other developmental stages. Besides, the starvation-induced pattern indicated that the sNPF network depends on the nutritional s...

Viruses, 2022

Bees, both wild and domesticated ones, are hosts to a plethora of viruses, with most of them infe... more Bees, both wild and domesticated ones, are hosts to a plethora of viruses, with most of them infecting a wide range of bee species and genera. Although viral discovery and research on bee viruses date back over 50 years, the last decade is marked by a surge of new studies, new virus discoveries, and reports on viral transmission in and between bee species. This steep increase in research on bee viruses was mainly initiated by the global reports on honeybee colony losses and the worldwide wild bee decline, where viruses are regarded as one of the main drivers. While the knowledge gained on bee viruses has significantly progressed in a short amount of time, we believe that integration of host defense strategies and their effect on viral dynamics in the multi-host viral landscape are important aspects that are currently still missing. With the large epidemiological dataset generated over the last two years on the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, the role of these defense mechanisms in shaping vira...

Viruses, 2021

State-of-the-art virus detection technology has advanced a lot, yet technology to evaluate the im... more State-of-the-art virus detection technology has advanced a lot, yet technology to evaluate the impacts of viruses on bee physiology and health is basically lacking. However, such technology is sorely needed to understand how multi-host viruses can impact the composition of the bee community. Here, we evaluated the potential of hemolymph metabolites as biomarkers to identify the viral infection status in bees. A metabolomics strategy based on ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography coupled to high-resolution mass spectrometry was implemented. First, we constructed a predictive model for standardized bumble bees, in which non-infected bees were metabolically differentiated from an overt Israeli acute paralysis virus (IAPV) infection (R2Y = 0.993; Q2 = 0.906), as well as a covert slow bee paralysis virus (SBPV) infection (R2Y = 0.999; Q2 = 0.875). Second, two sets of potential biomarkers were identified, being descriptors for the metabolomic changes in the bee’s hemolymph followin...

Journal of Pest Science, 2021

A correction to this paper has been published: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10340-021-01393-0

Applied Entomology and Zoology, 2020

The fall armyworm, Spodoptera frugiperda (J. E. Smith) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae), is a persistent ... more The fall armyworm, Spodoptera frugiperda (J. E. Smith) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae), is a persistent agricultural pest in many areas of the world, and it successfully invaded China in 2019. Like many lepidopteran insects, S. frugiperda pupates live in soil for protection under harsh environmental conditions. We conducted a serial experiment to understand the pupation behavior of S. frugiperda , as well as the effect of soil moisture on pupation. A digital video camera system was used to monitor larval pupation behavior of S. frugiperda . Four different soil moisture choices (5, 25, 50, and 80%) were used to determine the pupation location and behavior of S. frugiperda under laboratory conditions. The four-choice tests showed that most of the larvae prefer to pupate at 25–50% in saturated soil, and other few larvae burrow and pupate under dry (5%) or wet (80%) soils. In the no-choice tests, S. frugiperda larvae did not prefer the wet soil (80%) to pupate. However, soil moisture did not significantly affect the emergence rates. This study helps to increase the knowledge on pupation ecology of S. frugiperda and implies management strategies for this destructive pest.

Frontiers in Plant Science, 2020

Scientific Reports, 2020

Over the past few years, the use of RNA interference (RNAi) for insect pest management has attrac... more Over the past few years, the use of RNA interference (RNAi) for insect pest management has attracted considerable interest in academia and industry as a pest-specific and environment-friendly strategy for pest control. For the success of this technique, the presence of core RNAi genes and a functional silencing machinery is essential. Therefore, the aim of this study was to test whether the Neotropical brown stinkbug Euschistus heros has the main RNAi core genes and whether the supply of dsRNA could generate an efficient gene silencing response. To do this, total mRNA of all developmental stages was sequenced on an Illumina platform, followed by a de novo assembly, gene annotation and RNAi-related gene identification. Once RNAi-related genes were identified, nuclease activities in hemolymph were investigated through an ex vivo assay. To test the functionality of the siRNA machinery, E. heros adults were microinjected with ~28 ng per mg of insect of a dsRNA targeting the V-ATPase-A g...