Invasive species cost Canada billions of dollars each year. Now, a team led by UBC researchers has developed a new genomic test that can trace the Asian spongy moth -- one of the biggest threats to North America's forests -- back to its source, giving officials a better chance of stopping infestations before they spread.
SpongySeq is a DNA analysis tool designed to detect the Asian spongy moth, an invasive insect capable of defoliating entire forests within weeks. Unlike the European spongy moth, which has been established in North America for more than a century and spreads slowly because its females cannot fly, the Asian variety can travel long distances, feeds on a far wider range of trees -- including conifers -- and remains a high-risk invader with no strong natural controls.
"Spongy moths often hitchhike on ships by laying egg masses on hulls and cargo, and they are typically detected when vessels arrive and undergo inspection at the port," said researcher Dr. Richard Hamelin, professor in UBC's department of forest and conservation sciences. "Once established, they're nearly impossible to eradicate. Preventing new invasions is the most effective way to protect our forests."
DNA 'passport' reveals source of species
In collaboration with the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, Natural Resources Canada and Université Laval, Dr. Hamelin's team created a tool that works like a "genomic passport," analyzing 283 specific DNA markers at once -- taken from an egg, wing or antenna -- to identify a moth's geographic origin with 97-per-cent accuracy.
Lead author Dr. Sandrine Picq put the tool into use in the real world, testing egg masses intercepted by U.S. port officials and tracing their origins to Japan, eastern Russia, northern China and South Korea.
"These insights will help regulatory agencies understand invasion pathways and focus inspection efforts where they are most needed," said Dr. Picq, a researcher at Natural Resources Canada.
Why prevention matters
"Invasive species cost billions of dollars annually in lost ecosystem services, reduced resource sector productivity and management efforts. Preventing an outbreak avoids huge costs in phytosanitary work, loss of trade and market access, tree removal and replacement," said Brittany Day of the Plant Research & Strategies team at the Canadian Food inspection Agency, where scientists plan to integrate this new tool into their spongy moth diagnostic testing program.
The device itself currently requires specialized sequencing equipment found in laboratories. Researchers eventually aim to adapt SpongySeq for field use so inspectors can identify moth origins in real time at ports and border checkpoints. The same genomic approach could be adapted to track other invasive species.
The research, part of the BioSurveillance of Alien Forest Enemies (BioSAFE) project, was published in BMC Genomics and supported by grants from Genome Canada, Genome BC, Genome Quebec and Genomics Research and Development Initiative (GRDI).
