State Key Laboratory of Ecological Pest Control for Fujian and Taiwan Crops, Institute of Applied Ecology, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou, 350002, China. msyou@fafu.edu.cn.
Joint International Research Laboratory of Ecological Pest Control, Ministry of Education, Fuzhou, 350002, China. msyou@fafu.edu.cn.
State Key Laboratory of Ecological Pest Control for Fujian and Taiwan Crops, Institute of Applied Ecology, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou, 350002, China.
Joint International Research Laboratory of Ecological Pest Control, Ministry of Education, Fuzhou, 350002, China.
Department of Botany, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, V6T 1Z4, Canada.
School of BioSciences, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC, 3010, Australia.
Tianjin Key Laboratory for Modern Drug Delivery & High-Efficiency, Collaborative Innovation Center of Chemical Science and Engineering, School of Pharmaceutical Science and Technology, Tianjin University, Tianjin, 300072, China.
State Key Laboratory of Ecological Pest Control for Fujian and Taiwan Crops, Institute of Applied Ecology, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou, 350002, China. lvasseur@brocku.ca.
Joint International Research Laboratory of Ecological Pest Control, Ministry of Education, Fuzhou, 350002, China. lvasseur@brocku.ca.
Department of Biological Sciences, Brock University, 1812 Sir Isaac Brock Way, St. Catharines, ON, L2S 3A1, Canada. lvasseur@brocku.ca.
State Key Laboratory of Ecological Pest Control for Fujian and Taiwan Crops, Institute of Applied Ecology, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou, 350002, China. ggurr@csu.edu.au.
Joint International Research Laboratory of Ecological Pest Control, Ministry of Education, Fuzhou, 350002, China. ggurr@csu.edu.au.
Graham Centre, Charles Sturt University, Orange, NSW, 2800, Australia. ggurr@csu.edu.au.
School of Biological Sciences, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, Australia.
Instituto Superior de Formación Docente Salomé Ureña (ISFODOSU), Recinto Lus Napoleón Núñez Molina, Carretera Duarte, Km 10 1/2, Municipio de Licey Al Medio, Provincia de Santiago, República Dominicana.
Faculty of Land and Food Systems, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, V6T 1Z4, Canada.
Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Lethbridge Research Centre, Lethbridge, AB, Canada.
Division of Plant Sciences, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO, 65211, USA.
Plant Health & Environment Laboratory, Ministry for Primary Industries, Auckland, New Zealand.
Department of Plant, Food, and Environmental Sciences, Faculty of Agriculture, Dalhousie University, PO Box 550, Truro, NS, B2N 5E3, Canada.
Natural History Museum, Cromwell Road, South Kensington, SW7 5BD, London, UK.
The diamondback moth, Plutella xylostella is a cosmopolitan pest that has evolved resistance to all classes of insecticide, and costs the world economy an estimated US $4-5 billion annually. We analyse patterns of variation among 532 P. xylostella genomes, representing a worldwide sample of 114 populations. We find evidence that suggests South America is the geographical area of origin of this species, challenging earlier hypotheses of an Old-World origin. Our analysis indicates that Plutella xylostella has experienced three major expansions across the world, mainly facilitated by European colonization and global trade. We identify genomic signatures of selection in genes related to metabolic and signaling pathways that could be evidence of environmental adaptation. This evolutionary history of P. xylostella provides insights into transoceanic movements that have enabled it to become a worldwide pest.
