Effects of three insecticides on the expression of cytochrome P450 CYP6B7 in Helicoverpa armigera

Abstract

AbstractCytochrome P450 genes can be induced by xenobiotics, which may contribute to insect's adaptability to the environments and resistance to insecticides. Previous studies indicated that cytochrome P450 CYP6B7 played a vital role in the resistance of Helicoverpa armigera to fenvalerate. However, effects of different insecticides on the expression of CYP6B7 in H. armigera are still unclear. In this study, resistance level of H. armigera to six insecticides was determined by topical application method, and effects of fenvalerate, phoxim and indoxacarb on the expression of CYP6B7 in susceptible (HDS) and fenvalerate‐resistant (BJR) strains of H. armigera were evaluated by RT‐qPCR. The results showed that BJR strain had an extremely high level of resistance to fenvalerate (1990.57‐fold), and the induction of CYP6B7 in different tissues of BJR strain was significantly higher than that of HDS strain after exposure to fenvalerate for 24 and 48 hr. The highest induction level by fenvalerate was observed in the midgut, which were 13.7‐fold in HDS strain and 127.9‐fold in BJR strain at 24 and 48 hr, respectively. After exposure to phoxim, the expression level of CYP6B7 in HDS and BJR strains was induced by 2.3‐ and 316.8‐fold at 24 hr, respectively. It is worth to note that CYP6B7 could be induced by phoxim at different time points in BJR strain, but only induced at 24 and 72 hr in HDS strain. After indoxacarb exposure, the expression of CYP6B7 was induced by 1.6‐fold at 72 hr in BJR strain, whereas it was induced at 24 and 48 hr in HDS strain. These results demonstrated that the expression level of CYP6B7 could be induced by fenvalerate, phoxim and indoxacarb, but the induction time and levels varied; moreover, the induction in BJR strain was markedly higher than that in HDS strain after exposure to fenvalerate and phoxim.