Abstract
Talisin is a storage protein from Talisia esculenta seeds that presents lectin-like and peptidase inhibitor properties. These characteristics suggest that talisin plays a role in the plant defense process, making it a multifunctional protein. This work aimed to investigate the effects of chronic intake of talisin on fifth instar larvae of Spodoptera frugiperda, considered the main insect pest of maize and the cause of substantial economic losses in several other crops. The chronic intake of talisin presented antinutritional effects on the larvae, reducing their weight and prolonging the total development time of the insects. In addition, talisin-fed larvae also showed a significant reduction in the activity of trypsin-like enzymes. Midgut histology analysis of talisin-fed larvae showed alterations in the intestinal epithelium and rupture of the peritrophic membrane, possibly causing an increase of aminopeptidase activity in the midgut lumen. Talisin also proved to be resistant to degradation by the digestive enzymes of S. frugiperda. The transcription profile of trypsin, chymotrypsin and aminopeptidase genes was also analyzed through qPCR technique. Talisin intake resulted in differential expression of at least two genes from each of these classes of enzymes. Molecular docking studies indicated a higher affinity of talisin for the less expressed enzymes.
Highlights
Insect pest control is one of the major problems facing agriculture because of the need for agrochemicals to be more environmentally sound, economically efficient and not pose a threat to human health
Talisin presents high similarity with several storage proteins [7], and presents both peptidase inhibitor and lectin-like properties, which comprise two classes of proteins involved in plant defense mechanisms and that can lead to toxic effects when ingested by insects [8,18,19]
Talisin can be considered a multifunctional protein, and such versatility makes this protein worth exploring for its insecticidal potential
Summary
Insect pest control is one of the major problems facing agriculture because of the need for agrochemicals to be more environmentally sound, economically efficient and not pose a threat to human health. Different strategies have to be adopted to optimize crop productivity, mainly considering. The development of insect resistance against single-defense genes, including those currently used in Bt-crops, is well known [5,6]. Talisin is a Talisia esculenta seed protein that presents both peptidase inhibitors and lectinlike properties [7], which consist of two classes of proteins involved in plant defense mechanisms [8]. Previous studies showed that talisin intake promotes insecticidal activity against diverse insects [9,10,11]. Cultivars expressing plant defense genes have shown efficient organisms worldwide, mainly toatheir ability to exploit diverse habitats and food sources, results against insects, pointingdue toward promising direction
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