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SALT LAKE CITY — Scientists are trying to figure out how to get rid of a tiny organism that has become a giant pest around the world.
A biologist at the University of Utah is part of an international research team decoding the genetic blueprint of the two-spotted spider mite, prompting optimism in the effort to attack the microscopic pest that resists pesticides and destroys crops and ornamental plants around the globe.
The voracious mites can devour more than 1,100 plant species. Research has revealed and sequenced the creature's genome containing a variety of genes capable of detoxifying pesticides as well as toxins plants use to defend themselves.
The findings will be published in the Nov. 24 issue of the journal Nature.
One key thing that makes spider mites unique is they can eat many, many different plant species. These mites are often house plant pests — a major cause of people's house plants turning yellow and getting sick.
–Richard Clark
"One key thing that makes spider mites unique is they can eat many, many different plant species," said Richard Clark, assistant professor of biology at the University of Utah and one of the main authors of the study. "These mites are often house plant pests — a major cause of people's house plants turning yellow and getting sick."
He said the mites also are a major problem for agricultural nurseries and greenhouses, as well as field crops such as tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, strawberries, corn, soybeans, apples, grapes and citrus.
Clark says the study's importance was largely in understanding how animals eat plants, with a long-term goal of developing effective ways to prevent crop damage from mites and insects.
"If we can identify the biological pathways mites use to feed on plants, we can potentially identify chemical and biological methods to disrupt those pathways and stop the mites from feeding," he said.
The two-spotted spider mite is only about a millimeter long and is considered a major worldwide pest. It is predicted to become a growing concern in a warming global climate because it multiplies fast at high temperatures — 90 degrees or higher.
"They do really well in hot and dry climates like Utah," Clark said. But he warned the pest is resistant to many common pesticides used against insects.
The study was conducted by an international research team of 55 scientists from North America, Europe and South America.
Research found that the two-spotted spider mite has 18,414 genes and shed light on how the spider mites evolved differently than other arthropods.
The spider mite genome also revealed the presence of "families of genes involved in breaking down toxic compounds, either in plants poisonous to the spider mites or in pesticides," Clark explained. "This suggests that these genes are critical for the ability of mites to be pests on many different plants."
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