Het plaaginsect wittevlieg kan plantenvirussen overdragen die kunnen leiden tot aanzienlijke
oogstverliezen. De interactie tussen insect en waardplant is complex. Eerder hebben we een metaboliet aangetroffen
in de sapstroom van wilde tomaat die betrokken bleek bij het belemmeren van de ontwikkeling van het insect. Hoe
deze resistentie werkt is nog onduidelijk. In dit project willen we de onderliggende moleculaire mechanismen
ophelderen en daarmee veredeling voor deze natuurlijke afweer mogelijk maken.

Project aim: In this proposal, we want to validate the involvement of riboflavin in the insect immunity response,
elucidate the underlying molecular mechanisms and identify putative downstream targets.

Our project aims to exploit the natural resilience of plants and bring this to application in the breeding of stronger
plants, able to defend themselves against an invasive pest species, notorious for vectoring plant viruses.
Insect resistances found in nature are complex genetic properties, where environmental factors further impact the
trait. Bemisia tabaci, the vector of devastating viruses belongs to the most invasive insect species in the world (Brown
JK et al., 2002). They are masters in adaptation and have evolved ecotypes that became resistant to even the most
potent chemical treatments. Resistance against more than 60 active ingredients have been reported (Mota-Sanchezet al., 2019). For a durable solution, different resistances will have to be stacked and genetic resistance will have to
be part of a holistic Integrated Pest Management approach.

In this project, we aim to unravel the underlying mechanism of an insect resistance
identified in a wild tomato ancestor through a long-standing collaboration between the academic and industrial
partners. Insect resistance is a “complex” or quantitative trait, meaning the involvement of multiple genes, that
impact each other affecting the phenotype. Moreover, there is an effect of the environment on the phenotype
(Yencho et al., 2000, Corwin & Kliebenstein., 2017). Understanding the mechanism by which the candidate metabolic
signalling pathway and the genes involved results in enhanced insect resistance is crucial for the development of
predicting markers as a key technology.