Abstract
Colocasia esculenta tuber agglutinin (CEA), a mannose binding lectin, exhibits insecticidal efficacy against different hemipteran pests. Dysdercus cingulatus, red cotton bug (RCB), has also shown significant susceptibility to CEA intoxication. However, the molecular basis behind such entomotoxicity of CEA has not been addressed adequately. The present study elucidates the mechanism of insecticidal efficacy of CEA against RCB. Confocal and scanning electron microscopic analyses documented CEA binding to insect midgut tissue, resulting in an alteration of perimicrovillar membrane (PMM) morphology. Internalization of CEA into insect haemolymph and ovary was documented by western blotting analyses. Ligand blot followed by mass spectrometric identification revealed the cognate binding partners of CEA as actin, ATPase and cytochrome P450. Deglycosylation and mannose inhibition assays indicated the interaction to probably be mannose mediated. Bioinformatic identification of putative glycosylation or mannosylation sites in the binding partners further supports the sugar mediated interaction. Correlating entomotoxicity of CEA with immune histological and binding assays to the insect gut contributes to a better understanding of the insecticidal potential of CEA and endorses its future biotechnological application.
Highlights
The red cotton bug (Dysdercus cingulatus) is a sap sucking hemipteran pest that causes considerable yield loss by feeding on the tender leaf and cotton seeds [1]
Fresh tubers of Colocasia esculenta and nymphs of red cotton bug (RCB) were obtained from the institutional experimental farm at Madhyamgram, Kolkata according to experimental requirement
Agglutination assay demonstrated the lectin activity of the purified Colocasia esculenta tuber agglutinin (CEA) [2,16]
Summary
The red cotton bug (Dysdercus cingulatus) is a sap sucking hemipteran pest that causes considerable yield loss by feeding on the tender leaf and cotton seeds [1]. Both the adult and nymph feed gregariously on the leaves and green bolls of cotton. The lint is stained with the crushed nymphs and deposited excreta, which negatively impacts its market value. Chemical insecticides are regularly employed to control such pests, but their continuous application and abuse has led to the development of resistance in many insect species. The use of transgenic plants (cotton, corn, soybean, etc.) containing insecticidal genes from
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