Molecular Entomology 2024, Vol.15, No.2, 69-77 http://emtoscipublisher.com/index.php/me 73 5 Case Study 5.1 Background and location This case study focuses on barley cultivation in the western Canadian prairies, specifically in the provinces of Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba. These regions are significant for their extensive agricultural activities, particularly in the cultivation of cereals such as barley (Hordeum vulgare L.), which is a staple crop in these areas. The agroecosystems here have faced numerous challenges due to the invasion of various herbivorous insect species, which have had substantial impacts on crop yield and quality (Dosdall et al., 2011). 5.2 Overview of herbivorous insect challenges Barley crops in the western Canadian prairies have been subjected to invasions by several alien herbivorous insects. These insects, including the cereal leaf beetle (Oulema melanopus L.) and the pea leaf weevil (Sitona lineatus L.), have caused significant damage by feeding on the crops and reducing their productivity. The cereal leaf beetle, in particular, has been a major pest (Figure 2), leading to considerable economic losses due to its feeding habits, which damage the leaves and reduce photosynthetic capacity (Agrawal and Maron, 2022). Additionally, the presence of these insects has been linked to the transmission of plant viruses, further exacerbating the challenges faced by barley farmers (Wielkopolan et al., 2021). Figure 2 The structure of the cereal leaf beetle (Oulema melanopus) microbiome depends on the insect’s developmental stage, host plant, and origin (Adopted from Wielkopolan et al., 2021) Image caption: (a) alpha diversity of each group according to the Shannon index, (b) beta diversity of each sample according to the Jaccard distance (the vertical lines indicate the range excluding the outliers, the middle lines represent the median value, the boxes represent the upper and lower quartile values, (c) the jacknife coefficient determine the level of richness of bacterial community, (d) Venn diagram showing the number of shared bacteria species between insects collected from various cereal plant hosts observed in at least one sample (Adopted from Wielkopolan et al., 2021) The figure of Wielkopolan et al. (2021) illustrates the diversity of microbiome structure in the cereal leaf beetle (Oulema melanopus), depending on the developmental stage of the insect, the host plant, and its origin. Through
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