Relative role of nutrition and insecticide stress in altering genome-wide patterns of DNA methylation

Insecticide stress and nutrition are known to impact rates of DNA methylation, yet little is known about their combined effects. We exposed laboratory populations of Colorado Potato Beetle (Leptinotarsa decemineata) to insecticide stress under a range of nutritionally supplemented diets (Control, B12, Methionine). Utilizing whole genome bisulfite sequencing, we compared methylation profiles across these six treatment groups to identify differentially methylated regions. These findings will advance the understanding of environmental epigenetics in agricultural insect pests and help provide insight into potential mechanisms of stress tolerance.