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Title: EFFECTS OF MID-SEASON AVERMECTIN TREATMENTS ON PYRETHROID RESISTANCE IN HORN FLY (DIPTERA:MUSCIDAE) POPULATIONS AT THREE LOCATIONS IN LOUISIANA

Author
item OREMUS, G - LSU AG CTR-BATON ROUGE LA
item Guerrero, Felicito
item ALISON, JR, M - LSU AG CTR-WINNSBORO LA
item KIMBALL, M - LSU AG CTR,BOSSIER CITY
item FOIL, L - LSU AG CTR-BATON ROUGE LA

Submitted to: Veterinary Parasitology
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 5/5/2006
Publication Date: 10/10/2006
Citation: Oremus, G., Guerrero, F.D., Alison, Jr, M.W., Kimball, M.M., Kim, J.H., Foil, L.D. 2006. Effects of mid-season avermectin treatments on pyrethroid resistance in horn fly (Diptera: Muscidae) populations at three locations in Louisiana. Veterinary Parasitology. 141(1-2):156-164.

Interpretive Summary: Pyrethroid resistance has become a major problem for US cattle producers attempting to control horn flies on their cattle herds. Different treatments are being devised and tested to attempt to restore pyrethroid susceptibility to problematic horn fly populations. Between 1999 and 2002, the effect of mid-season doramectin treatments on the level of resistance in pyrethroid-resistant horn fly populations was examined at three separate Louisiana State University Agricultural Center research stations, Macon Ridge, Red River, and St. Joseph. The cattle were treated with pyrethroid ear tags in all years at all farms, and each farm received a mid-season treatment with doramectin in one year. Doramectin is a pesticide from a class of pesticides much different than pyrethroids and resistance to doramectin has not been reported in horn fly populations. The number of weeks of control at Red River was 11 weeks higher in the year following the mid-season treatment of doramectin. However, at Macon Ridge, the number of weeks of control was only 2 weeks higher in the year following the mid-season doramectin treatment. No change in weeks of control was observed at St. Joseph in the year following the doramectin treatment. The pyrethroid resistance level for each fly populations testedwas found to increase from the spring to the fall except the year when the doramectin treatment was administered. Using both filter paper bioassays and PCR assays for a pyrethroid resistance-associated gene mutation, resistance profiles for each population were established.

Technical Abstract: Between 1999 and 2002, the effect of mid-season doramectin treatments on the level of resistance in pyrethroid-resistant horn fly populations was examined at three separate Louisiana State University Agricultural Center research stations. The cattle were treated with pyrethroid ear tags in all years at all farms, and each farm received a mid-season doramectin treatment in one year. The number of weeks of control at Red River was 11 weeks higher in the year following the mid-season treatment of doramectin. At Macon Ridge, the number of weeks of control was 2 weeks higher in the year following the mid-season treatment. No change was observed at St. Joseph. The LC50’s for fly populations tested at Macon Ridge and St. Joseph were found to increase for pyrethroids from the spring populations to the fall populations between 2000 and 2002. The LC50’s for fly populations at Red River followed the same trends except in 2000, the year when the doramectin treatment was administered. Flies collected pre and post-treatment each year from St. Joseph and Red River were assayed for two alleles (kdr and skdr) associated with target site resistance to pyrethroids. Flies collected pretreatment at Macon Ridge in 1999 also were assayed for the kdr and skdr, and this population of flies had a frequency of 85.6% R-kdr alleles. At St. Joseph and Red River there was a general decline in the frequency of homozygous susceptible skdr (SS-skdr) and homozygous susceptible kdr (SS-kdr) individuals, as well as a general increase in homozygous resistant skdr (RR-skdr) and homozygous resistant kdr (RR-kdr) individuals, during the four year study. At both sites, the frequency of R-kdr alleles increased significantly in flies collected in the fall compared to flies collected in the spring with the exception of Red River in 2000, when dormacetin was applied. The frequency of the R-kdr alleles was significantly higher in flies collected in the fall compared to flies collected in the spring in the following year at both sites in two out of three comparisons. The frequency of R-skdr alleles was significantly higher in fly populations tested in the fall compared to fly populations tested in the previous spring at both farms in years when doramectin was not applied but there were no differences in the years when doramectin was applied. The frequency of R-skdr alleles was significantly higher in fly populations tested in the fall compared to in the spring the following year during all three comparisons at Red River and in one of three comparisons at St. Joseph..