Tribolium castaneum: A Model Insect for Fundamental and Applied Research

Abstract

Tribolium castaneum has a long history as a model species in many distinct subject areas, but improved connections among the genetics, genomics, behavioral, ecological, and pest management fields are needed to fully realize this species’ potential as a model. Tribolium castaneum was the first beetle whose genome was sequenced, and a new genome assembly and enhanced annotation, combined with readily available genomic research tools, have facilitated its increased use in a wide range of functional genomics research. Research into T. castaneum’s sensory systems, response to pheromones and kairomones, and patterns of movement and landscape utilization has improved our understanding of behavioral and ecological processes. Tribolium castaneum has also been a model in the development of pest monitoring and management tactics, including evaluation of insecticide resistance mechanisms. Application of functional genomics approaches to behavioral, ecological, and pest management research is in its infancy but offers a powerful tool that can link mechanism with function and facilitate exploitation of these relationships to better manage this important food pest. Expected final online publication date for the Annual Review of Entomology, Volume 67 is January 2022. Please see http://www.annualreviews.org/page/journal/pubdates for revised estimates.

The red flour beetle T. castaneum: elaborate genetic toolkit and unbiased large scale RNAi screening to study insect biology and evolution

“…As a major pest of stored products, T. castaneum has long been used for investigating pest management and insecticide resistance [ 81 ]. While earlier studies focused on mechanisms and spread of pesticide resistance, recent interest has been building for using Tribolium as a model system for testing dsRNA-based pesticides in beetles and other insects.…”

Generating and testing the efficacy of transgenic Cas9 in Tribolium castaneum

“…Tribolium castaneum is a continually evolving genetic model, and Tribolium research complements and offers several benefits over the standard and popular insect model of Drosophila melanogaster. Not only is Tribolium a model for evolutionary and developmental questions of biology (Adamski et al, 2019;Beeman et al, 1989;Brown et al, 1994Brown et al, , 2009Pointer et al, 2021;Schroder et al, 2008), but also a model for regulating agricultural pests (Campbell et al, 2022;Kandul et al, 2019;Rosner et al, 2020). Moreover, it is a representative of the order Coleoptera, which comprises approximately 25% of animal species as well as 40% of known insect species (Hunt et al, 2007).…”

RNAi‐mediated knockdown of juvenile hormone esterase causes mortality and malformation in Tribolium castaneum

“…It is therefore urgent to develop alternative pest control strategies for T. castaneum. On the other hand, T. castaneum is a good model to identify new pesticide targets and develop novel pest management strategy for agriculturally important coleopteran species, due to their robust systematic RNAi mechanism, strong foundation of genetics and genomics information (Campbell et al 2022;Knorr et al 2013;Morris et al 2009;Richards 2008;Young et al 2012).…”