BLACKSBURG, Va. – A new Virginia Tech research study revealed a gene mutation in bed bugs that may contribute to their insecticide resistance.
Bed bugs were nearly eradicated in the 1950s with the use of DDT, a highly effective pesticide. However, that pesticide was banned in the 1970s due to adverse environmental effects, according to the EPA. Bed bugs have become infamous for their resistance to many different pesticides, and this gene mutation may explain why.
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Warren Booth, the Joseph R. and Mary W. Wilson Urban Entomology Associate Professor in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, was aware of a gene mutation in German cockroaches and white flies that contributes to their insecticide resistance. Booth set up a study for graduate student Camille Block to build up her molecular research skills, and that’s where they made the discovery.
“It [the discovery] was literally my last 24 samples. I’ve never done any kind of molecular work before, so getting all these molecular skills was super important.”
Camille Block, graduate student studying entomology
The researchers said that bed bugs have a high level of genetic uniformity due to inbreeding, so one specimen can be highly representative of a sample population. The researchers checked specimens from two populations, and both had the mutation.
“When we went back and screened multiple individuals from the two populations, every one of them had the mutations. So they were fixed for these mutations, and it’s the same mutation that we find in German cockroaches.”
Warren Booth, Joseph R. and Mary W. Wilson Urban Entomology Associate Professor in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences
The Booth lab’s success in understanding bed bugs may help efforts in eradicating them completely. The lab also works with pest control companies directly.
“I love evolution. I think it is so interesting. People feel more connected to these urban species, and I think it’s easier to get people interested in bed bugs as it is something they may have personally experienced.”
Camille Block, graduate student studying entomology
For the full release of the study, click here.
