The spread of resistance to imidacloprid is restricted by thermotolerance in natural populations of Drosophila melanogaster

Abstract

Imidacloprid, the world’s most utilised insecticide 1 , has raised considerable controversy due to its harmful effects on non-pest species 2–6 and there is increasing evidence showing that insecticides have become the primary selective force in many insect species 7–14 . The genetic response to insecticides is heterogeneous across population and environment 15–17 , leading to more complex patterns of genetic variation than previously thought. This motivated the investigation of imidacloprid resistance at different temperatures in natural populations of Drosophila melanogaster originating from four climate extremes replicated across two continents. Population and quantitative genomic analysis..