Effect of non-nutritive sugars to decrease the survivorship of spotted wing drosophila, Drosophila suzukii

Abstract

In this study, we investigated the effects of non-nutritive sugars and sugar alcohols on the survivorship of spotted wing drosophila, Drosophila suzukii, and found erythritol and erythrose as potentially insecticidal to the fly. In a dose-dependent study, erythritol and erythrose significantly reduced fly longevity, with 100% mortality with 1, 0.5, 0.1 & 0.05M doses after feeding for 7days. When sucrose and erythritol solutions were provided separately to flies for 7days, there was no effect on survivorship regardless of erythritol concentrations. However, with a serial combination of sucrose and erythritol solutions, fly survivorship was significantly decreased for the same period. Also, the higher dose of erythritol regardless of the sucrose dose combined showed greater mortality. In a no-choice assay, D. suzukii ingested more erythritol than sucrose or water, indicating the fly continuously fed on erythritol for 72h. Also under no-choice conditions, erythritol and sucrose-fed flies gained more weight than water-fed flies. However, in two-choice assays, the amount of erythritol ingested was less than sucrose or water. Total sugar and glycogen levels among erythritol and erythrose-fed flies were significantly less than mannitol, sorbitol, xylitol, and sucrose-fed flies after 48h. This indicates that these two non-nutritive sugars can't be used a substrate for enzymes involved in sugar metabolism. Although the metabolism of erythritol and erythrose is unknown in insects, the mortality of D. suzukii flies ingesting these sugars might be caused by two potential physiological changes. The fly is starved by feeding of non-metabolizable erythritol and erythrose, or experiences abnormally high osmotic pressure in the hemolymph with erythritol molecules diffused from the midgut. Non-nutritive sugars might be used as an insecticide alone or combined with conventional or biological insecticides to enhance efficacy. If other sugar sources are present, a palatable sugar might be mixed with erythritol to elicit feeding.

Larvicidal potential of the polyol sweeteners erythritol and xylitol in two filth fly species

“…Rather, the prevailing evidence suggests that osmolarity imbalance in the hemolymph due to a lack of metabolic breakdown has something to do with their lethality (Tang et al ). Choi et al () suggest that the increased hemolymph osmotic pressure seen in D. suzukii after an Er diet may reduce the rate of crop emptying, which would decrease feeding activity and thus lead to death by starvation. If Er or Xy are to be utilized in part or solely as a larvicidal formulation, future studies should focus on determining their exact mode of action.…”

“…The polyol sweeteners erythritol (Er) and xylitol (Xy) have gained attention in recent years for their insecticidal potential against Drosophila melanogaster (O'Donnell et al ), the spotted wing Drosophila, D. suzukii (Sampson et al , Choi et al , Tang et al ), and the Oriental fruit fly, Bactrocera dorsalis (Zheng et al 2015). Both Er and Xy have also been considered for control purposes in the house fly, Musca domestica (Fisher et al , Burgess and King , Burgess et al ).…”

Lethal effects of erythritol on the mosquito Aedes aegypti Linnaeus (Diptera: Culicidae)

“…In addition to mosquitoes, erythritol may impact other dipteran pests. Including this study, four species representing four different families of Diptera (Drosophilidae, Tephritidae, Muscidae, and Culicidae) have shown susceptibility to erythritol (Baudier et al., ; Burgess & King, ; Choi et al., ; Fisher et al., ; Goffin et al., ; O'Donnell et al., , ; Sampson, Werle, et al., ; Sampson, Marshall et al., ; Tang et al., ; Zheng et al., ). One hymenopteran (Formicidae) has also shown susceptibility to erythritol (Zhang et al., ).…”

“…albopictus is a competent vector of dengue, although slightly less efficient in transmission than Ae. aegypti (Gratz, 2004 have shown susceptibility to erythritol (Baudier et al, 2014;Burgess & King, 2017;Choi et al, 2017;Fisher et al, 2017;Goffin et al, 2017;O'Donnell et al, 2016O'Donnell et al, , 2018Sampson, Marshall et al, 2017;Tang et al, 2017;Zheng et al, 2016). One hymenopteran (Formicidae) has also shown susceptibility to erythritol (Zhang et al, 2017).…”

“…It also impairs egg production in adult D. melanogaster (O'Donnell et al., ). The negative effects of erythritol on survival in adults and/or larvae have been replicated in other dipteran species including the oriental fruit fly, Bactrocera dorsalis Hendel (Zheng, Zeng, & Xu, ), the spotted wing drosophila, D. suzukii Matsumura (Choi et al., ; Goffin et al., ; Sampson, Marshall, et al., ; Sampson, Werle, Stringer, & Adamczyk, ; Tang, Lee, Jung, & Choi, ) and the house fly, Musca domestica Linnaeus (Burgess & King, ; Fisher, Fowler, Denning, & Watson, ). The longevity of the red imported fire ant Solenopsis invicta Buren, a hymenopteran, is also negatively impacted by erythritol (Zhang, Chen, Li, & Xu, ).…”