The Scientific Leader presented work on the Ips typographus genome and its use American & Canadian Entomology Societies meeting in Vancouver

“The genome of Ips typographus (Eurasian spruce bark beetle) was published in 2021: What happens now?” at the 2022 Joint ESA, ESC, and ESBC Annual Meeting, held in-person and virtually, November 13-16, 2022, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.

A similar talk was given in December at the SLU Alnarp Chemical Ecology unit meeting and at the EXTEMIT-K team meeting.

Ongoing and future use of the genome in various labs demonstrate the genome as a 'Swiss Army Knife' useful for many tasks.

Sequencing of the Ips typographus genome by seven laboratories1 paves the way for new research on Ips bark beetles and prospects for effective beetle management. Revealing the functional genomics of Ips typographus enables a far more profound understanding of how it has become a remarkably successful tree killer of Norway spruce. It allows us to dig into the molecular events underlying the adaptation of beetles to thrive on the nutritionally limited and defense-rich bark substrate. Genome information will facilitate a deeper understanding of bark beetle physiology, including pheromone biosynthesis2,3 , dispersal4, and the molecular mechanisms of host colonisation5,6. Such understanding will open the door for next-generation pest management using RNA interference (RNAi)7.

Currently, scientific issues of geographical dispersal, variation, and evolution are being studied by us and at Lund U., SE4 and Cracow U., PL8.

1. Powell et al. Comm Biol 4 (2021). 10.1038/s42003-021-02602-3
2. Ramakrishnan et al. IBMB 140 (2022). 10.1016/j.ibmb.2021.103680
3. Ramakrishnan et al. DiB 41 (2022). 10.1016/j.dib.2022.107912
4. Ellerstrand et al. Ecol & Evol 12 (2022) 10.1002/ece3.9078
5. Naseer et al. Age matters: life-stage, tissue and sex-specific gene expression dynamics in Ips typographus (Coleoptera: Curculionidae: Scolytinae). Frontiers in Forests and Global Change, 6 (2023) 10.3389/ffgc.2023.1124754
6. Ashraf et al. Feeding-induced protein expression in Ips typographus. (Under review)
7. Sellamuthu et al. RNAi as a management tool for Ips typographus(In prep)
8. Mykhailenko et al. High prevalence of polymorphic inversions in Eurasian spruce bark beetle (In prep).

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