HCS Seminar Series: Screening for resistance and modes of virulence in soybean; Brown Marmorated Stinkbug interactions

Halyomorpha halys, brown marmorated stinkbug (BMSB). is a native insect of Korea, Japan, and

China. In 1996, BMSB was introduced to North America and has quickly become a noxious agricultural pest. In

nearly 20 years, BMSB populations have steadily increased and are now high enough in the mid-Atlantic region to

significantly reduced yield and create substantial economic losses to a wide range of plants and crops; including

soybeans, corn, apples, grapes, vegetables. and several horticultural tree species. As of 2015. BMSB has been

detected in 42 states and is a severe agricultural pest in nine states. On soybeans. BMSB feeding damage ranges

from puncture marks with seed discoloration and deformities to seed and pod abortion. In 2011 , U.S. producers

grew 30.3 million hectares of soybeans with a market value of 36 billion dollars. Ohio is one of the nation's leading

producers of conventional (non-GMO). food-grade soybeans grown tor tofu. a high value product where seed

damage or discoloration is unacceptable. Over the past two years. my lab has developed methods to rear BMSB,

screen soybean germplasm and evaluate host plant resistance. Results from choice and no-choice tests indicate

high levels of susceptibility in commercial varieties. however. several sources of resistance have been identified in

plant introduction screening. High broad-sense heritability estimates (H2 =O. 70) indicate that resistance

characteristics are largely a result of genetic factors and can be introgressed into high yielding varieties. No-choice

tests revealed pod maturity effects susceptibility and may implicate pod wall thickness or components as a

mechanical barrier to stylet penetration. our results also suggest aphid resistance may enhanced BMSB

susceptibility. In addition. preliminary evidence from interrogation of the BMSB microbiome will be discussed.