Helicoverpa Hybrids: Two in One

Evidence of the presence of Helicoverpa hybrids in Brazil is growing. Samples of caterpillars of the Armigera and Zea species collected in Mato Grosso and analyzed by researchers from the United Kingdom and Australia, through

15.06.2018 | 20:59 (UTC -3)

Insects belonging to the Heliothinae family are among the most harmful agricultural pests in the world. Among the main representatives of this family are Helicoverpa armigera e H. zea, popularly called Old World Cottonworm and Corn Earworm, respectively. The global scientific community classified H. armigera as one of the pests with the greatest agricultural impact between 2012 and 2016. 

H. armigera is an extremely polyphagous pest, being recorded in more than 300 hosts, including cultivated, invasive and wild plants in different parts of the world, including crops such as cotton, soybeans, corn and tomatoes, while H. zea has a smaller number of hosts, 123 species, among these are also crops of great economic importance for Brazil, such as cotton, corn and tomatoes. Therefore, it can be said that there is a close and continuous relationship between the two species, especially in annual crops. This situation can become even worse in continuous cultivation systems, such as irrigated areas, creating the so-called “green bridges”, very common in agricultural regions of the Brazilian Cerrado.

Helicoverpa armigera e H. zea They are morphologically similar species and molecular analyzes have proven the genetic similarity between their genomes, which justifies the reported cases of hybridization between the two species. Approximately 1,5 million years ago in the evolutionary timeline, H. armigera e H. zea they shared a common ancestor, which explains this genetic proximity. The ability of hybridization between the Old World caterpillar (H. Armigera) and the New World (H. Zea) in producing fertile offspring has been clearly demonstrated in laboratory experiments since 1965, although such scenarios have been restricted to laboratory conditions only, prior to the recent arrival of H. armigera on the South American Continent. Through complete genomic sequencing, according to a study by the renowned CSIRO Institute in Australia, it was possible to verify the existence of hybrid individuals from Brazilian samples. Continue reading.

Cecilia Czepak

Goias Federal University

Wee Tek Tay

CSIRO Black Mountain Laboratories

Humberto O. Guimaraes

Corteva agriscience

Tiago Carvalhais

Matheus Le Senechal

Rafael F. Silverio Goias Federal University 


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