Data from: Enhanced yeast feeding following mating facilitates control of the invasive fruit pest Drosophila suzukii

The highly invasive spotted wing Drosophila, Drosophila suzukii, is a key pest of soft fruit and berries in Europe and North America, and development of control techniques is an urgent research challenge. Drosophila suzukii is widely associated with the yeast Hanseniaspora uvarum. Yeasts are symbionts of drosophilid flies and communicate with insects through volatile metabolites for spore dispersal. Accordingly, yeasts and behaviour-modifying chemicals produced by yeasts are prospective tools for environmentally sound insect management. We first bioassayed flight attraction, feeding and oviposition of D. suzukii females in response to H. uvarum yeast and blueberries, a preferred host fruit. We then investigated the combined effect of yeast and insecticide on adult female oviposition behaviour and mortality towards the development of a yeast-based control method. Following mating, attraction of female flies to blueberry and yeast odour cues was strongly enhanced. Yeast feeding significantly increased in mated females, while yeast did not increase oviposition on blueberries. This observation suggests that mated flies become attracted to yeast for feeding and to fruit for egg laying. A combined feeding-oviposition assay demonstrated different roles and interference between yeast and fruit stimuli: during the day after mating, females laid fewer eggs when yeast was available. The post-mating yeast-feeding response is an opportunity for the development of an attract-and-kill technique for population control of D. suzukii. Exposing flies to a blend of yeast and insecticide reduced oviposition and greatly enhanced adult fly mortality compared with an insecticide treatment alone. Synthesis and applications. Mated females are the key life stage for D. suzukii population control. Egg-laying females perforate fruit skin and fungal infestations ensue, even when eggs and larvae are killed off by insecticide sprays. Behaviour-modifying chemicals, including yeast metabolites, enable environmentally safe insect management via manipulation of olfactory-mediated reproductive behaviour. Our results highlight that yeast and yeast semiochemicals hold potential for D. suzukii management and that response modulation to olfactory stimuli following mating is a vital element for the development of D. suzukii control methods. Yeast-feeding is enhanced in mated D. suzukii females and this change in post-mating behaviour can be exploited for development of an attract-and-kill strategy, combining a fly-associated yeast with an insecticide. Furthermore, using the D. suzukii yeast mutualist, H. uvarum, may reduce non-target effects and increase species specificity, which further contributes to the development of an efficient and safe control method.

极具入侵性的斑翅果蝇（Drosophila suzukii）是欧洲与北美地区软质浆果类作物的主要害虫，其防治技术的研发是当前亟待攻克的重要科研挑战。
斑翅果蝇常与葡萄汁有孢汉逊酵母（Hanseniaspora uvarum）形成稳定共生关系。酵母作为果蝇类昆虫的共生菌，可通过挥发性代谢产物传递信号以实现孢子扩散。据此，酵母及其分泌的行为调控化学物质有望成为环境友好型昆虫防治手段。
本研究首先针对斑翅果蝇雌成虫，测定其对葡萄汁有孢汉逊酵母及其偏好寄主蓝莓的飞行趋性、取食与产卵行为反应；随后探究了酵母与杀虫剂联合作用对成虫雌虫产卵行为及死亡率的影响，以期开发基于酵母的害虫防治方法。
交配完成后，雌虫对蓝莓与酵母气味的趋性显著增强。交配雌虫的酵母取食量显著提升，但酵母并未增加其在蓝莓上的产卵量。该观测结果表明，交配后的果蝇会被酵母吸引以获取营养，同时转向寄主果实完成产卵。取食-产卵联合测定实验揭示了酵母与果实刺激物的不同作用及相互干扰：交配后当日，当环境中存在酵母时，雌虫的产卵量会出现显著降低。
交配后雌虫的酵母取食响应，为开发斑翅果蝇种群防治的引诱-灭杀技术提供了可行契机。与单独施用杀虫剂相比，将果蝇暴露于酵母与杀虫剂的混合制剂中，可同时降低产卵量并显著提升成虫死亡率。
研究总结与应用展望：交配雌虫是斑翅果蝇种群防治的关键生命阶段。产卵雌虫会刺穿果皮，即便卵与幼虫被杀虫剂灭杀，果实仍会继发真菌侵染。通过酵母代谢产物等行为调控化学物质，可通过操纵嗅觉介导的生殖行为实现环境安全的昆虫防治。本研究结果表明，酵母及其信息化合物在斑翅果蝇防治中具备应用潜力，而交配后对嗅觉刺激的响应调控，是开发斑翅果蝇防治方法的核心环节。交配雌虫的酵母取食行为显著增强，这一交配后行为变化可被用于开发引诱-灭杀策略，即将果蝇共生酵母与杀虫剂结合使用。此外，利用斑翅果蝇的互惠共生伙伴——葡萄汁有孢汉逊酵母，可降低非靶标效应并提升物种特异性，进而助力高效安全的防治手段开发。