Abstract
Effective, ethical pest control requires the use of chemicals that are highly specific, safe, and ecofriendly. Linalool and β-pinene occur naturally as major constituents of the essential oils of many plant species distributed throughout the world, and thus meet these requirements. These monoterpenes were tested as repellents against Tribolium castaneum, using the area preference method, after four hours of exposure and the effect transcriptional of genes associated with neurotransmission. Changes in gene expression of acetylcholinesterase (Ace1), GABA-gated anion channel splice variant 3a6a (Rdl), GABA-gated ion channel (Grd), glutamate-gated chloride channel (Glucl), and histamine-gated chloride channel 2 (Hiscl2) were assessed and the interaction with proteins important for the insect using in silico methods was also studied. For linalool and β-pinene, the repellent concentration 50 (RC50) values were 0.11 µL/cm2 and 0.03 µL/cm2, respectively. Both compounds induced overexpression of Hiscl2 gen in adult insects, and β-pinene also promoted the overexpression of Grd and the Ace1 gene. However, β-pinene and linalool had little potential to dock on computer-generated models for GABA-gated ion channel LCCH3, nicotinic acetylcholine receptor subunits alpha1 and alpha2, and putative octopamine/tyramine receptor proteins from T. castaneum as their respective binding affinities were marginal, and therefore the repellent action probably involved mechanisms other than direct interaction with these targets. Results indicated that β-pinene was more potent than linalool in inducing insect repellency, and also had a greater capacity to generate changes in the expression of genes involved in neuronal transmission.
Highlights
Biopesticides are gaining increased attention and interest among those concerned with environmentally friendly, safe, and integrated crop management approaches [1,2] and, correspondingly, nature has provided us with a variety of chemotherapeutic agents [3]
These compounds showed strong repellent activity, with repellent concentration lowest concentration, attractive activity was found for both compounds
Linalool is a monoterpene of 10 carbon atoms and an alcohol group [16] that has been reported as a mosquito (Aedes aegypti) [17] and beetle repellent (T. castaneum and Dominica Rhyzopertha) [18], which coincides with the effects observed in this study
Summary
Biopesticides are gaining increased attention and interest among those concerned with environmentally friendly, safe, and integrated crop management approaches [1,2] and, correspondingly, nature has provided us with a variety of chemotherapeutic agents [3]. Essential oils (EOs) and their constituents affect biochemical processes, disrupting the endocrinological balance of insects. Terpenes are a class of plant secondary metabolites that have a distinct structure and function, and are considered to be important agents in the medicinal uses of aromatic plants [3]. Monoterpenes, a structurally diverse group of phytochemical compounds, are the major constituent of EOs. In recent years, interest in understanding the pharmacological actions of these molecules has increased. Studies have demonstrated that these naturally occurring molecules can modulate the functional properties
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