Inheritance pattern and expression of resistance to phosphine in larval stage of Tribolium castaneum (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae)

Resistance developed by Tribolium castaneum (Herbst), a major pest of stored grain and grain products, to phosphine is a serious concern. Treatment of phosphine is given to all the stages (egg, larva, pupa and adult) of insects simultaneously in the infected commodity. Effective resistance management tactics need a proper understanding of expression of resistance in relation to dosage in immature stages including larvae. So, this study was undertaken to understand the genetic basis of phosphine resistance in larval stage of T. castaneum by crossing the resistant and susceptible parents to obtain the F1, F2 and the back-cross progenies. The resistant parent had a resistance ratio of 37.75 when compared to the susceptible parent. The susceptibility levels of the reciprocal F1 hybrids did not show any significant difference indicating autosomal mode of inheritance of resistance. Level of dominance for the reciprocal F1 hybrids was estimated (-0.70 and −0.68) which showed that the resistance is expressed as incompletely recessive in larval stage of T. castaneum. χ2 analysis showed that the observed and expected mortalities differed significantly (P < 0.05) in most of the concentrations indicating that more than one gene is responsible for phosphine resistance. Two plateaus at ∼ 40 % and ∼ 90 % mortality levels for the back-cross progeny to the resistant parent further confirmed the involvement of two or more genes in imparting resistance to phosphine. Our results will aid in enhancing the knowledge on the development of resistance to phosphine in the field and thus facilitate in designing suitable resistance management tactics.