Polyphagous Pest Helicoverpa Armigera Research Articles

Keap1 Negatively Regulates Transcription of Three Counter-Defense Genes and Susceptibility to Plant Toxin Gossypol in Helicoverpa armigera.

Expressions of a wide range of cytoprotective counter-defense genes are mainly regulated by the Keap1-Nrf2-ARE signaling pathway in response to oxidative stress from xenobiotics. Gossypol is the major antiherbivore secondary metabolite of cotton, but how the polyphagous pest Helicoverpa armigera copes with this phytochemical to utilize its favorite host plant cotton remains largely elusive. In this study, we first suppressed the Keap1 gene in newly hatched larvae of cotton bollworm by feeding them the siRNA diet for 4 days. All of the larvae were subsequently fed the artificial diet supplied with gossypol or the control diet for 5 days. We identified that the knockdown of the Keap1 gene significantly decreased larval mortality and significantly increased the percentages of larval survival, reaching the fourth instar, compared with ncsiRNA when exposed to a diet containing gossypol. Three counter-defense genes CYP9A17, CYP4L11 and UGT41B3, which were related to the induction or metabolism of gossypol according to the report before, were all significantly up-regulated after the knockdown of the Keap1 gene. The Antioxidant Response Elements (AREs) were also detected in the promoter regions of the three counter-defense genes above. These data indicate that the suppression of the Keap1 gene activates the Keap1-Nrf2-ARE signaling pathway, up-regulates the expressions of counter-defense genes involved in the resistance of oxidative stress and finally contributes to reducing the susceptibility of gossypol. Our results provide more knowledge about the transcriptional regulation mechanisms of counter-defense genes that enable the cotton bollworm to adapt to the diversity of host plants including cotton.

Landscape simplification increases the risk of infestation by the polyphagous pest Helicoverpa armigera for walnut, a novel marginal host

Landscape simplification increases the risk of infestation by the polyphagous pest Helicoverpa armigera for walnut, a novel marginal host

A spatiotemporal atlas of the lepidopteran pest Helicoverpa armigera midgut provides insights into nutrient processing and pH regulation

BackgroundCaterpillars from the insect order Lepidoptera are some of the most widespread and destructive agricultural pests. Most of their impact is at the larval stage, where the midgut epithelium mediates the digestion and absorption of an astonishing amount of food. Although this tissue has been the subject of frequent investigation in Lepidoptera, a comprehensive expression atlas has yet to be generated.ResultsHere, we perform RNA-sequencing and proteomics on the gut of the polyphagous pest Helicoverpa armigera across, life stages, diet types, and compartments of the anterior-posterior axis. A striking relationship between the structural homology and expression pattern of a group of sugar transporters was observed in the early larval stages. Further comparisons were made among the spatial compartments of the midgut, which suggested a putative role for vATPases and SLC9 transporters in the generation of alkaline conditions in the H. armigera midgut.ConclusionsThis comprehensive resource will aid the scientific community in understanding lepidopteran gut physiology in unprecedented resolution. It is hoped that this study advances the understanding of the lepidopteran midgut and also facilitates functional work in this field.

Pathogenicity of Beauveria bassiana and Metarhizium anisopliae isolates against larvae of the polyphagous pest Helicoverpa armigera

Pathogenicity of Beauveria bassiana and Metarhizium anisopliae isolates against larvae of the polyphagous pest Helicoverpa armigera

Structure-function relationship of a bio-pesticidal trypsin/chymotrypsin inhibitor from winged bean

Protease inhibitors are essential bio-molecules that serve as a model system for the study of protein structure and protease–protease inhibitor interaction. We here report a bi-functional serine protease inhibitor from winged bean (WBCTI) that completely retains its inhibitory property against trypsin and chymotrypsin even after heating at 70°C. Detailed circular dichroism and fluorescence studies at different temperatures, 30–90°C, have been performed to understand the reason behind thermal stability of the protein. On the basis of our results it appears that WBCTI maintains its canonical structure up to 70°C. Above that the heat induced conformational change becomes irreversible which causes aggregation followed by precipitation of the protein. Moreover, the activity and stability of the secondary structure are found to decrease drastically in presence of dithiothreitol indicating that the protein acquires additional stability for the occurrence of two disulfide bonds. In addition to the structural characterization, an important property of WBCTI against the polyphagous pest Helicoverpa armigera has been explored in present study. WBCTI has showed reasonable inhibition of the mid-gut proteases of H. armigera. In artificial feeding trial through addition of WBCTI in diet resulted in significant growth retardation, delayed pupae formation and higher mortality of H. armigera larvae.

Expansion of a bitter taste receptor family in a polyphagous insect herbivore.

The Insect taste system plays a central role in feeding behaviours and co-evolution of insect-host interactions. Gustatory receptors form the interface between the insect taste system and the environment. From genome and transcriptome sequencing we identified 197 novel gustatory receptor (GR) genes from the polyphagous pest Helicoverpa armigera. These GRs include a significantly expanded bitter receptor family (180 GRs) that could be further divided into three categories based on polypeptide lengths, gene structure and amino acid sequence. Type 1 includes 29 bitter Gr genes that possess introns. Type 2 includes 13 long intronless bitter Gr genes, while Type 3 comprises 131 short intronless bitter Gr genes. Calcium imaging analysis demonstrated that three Type 3 GRs (HarmGR35, HarmGR50 and HarmGR195) can be activated by a crude extract of cotton leaves. HarmGR195, a GR specifically and selectively expressed in adult tarsi, showed a specific response to proline, an amino acid widely present in plant tissues. We hypothesise that the expansion in the H. armigera GR family may be functionally tied to its polyphagous behavior. Understanding the molecular basis of polyphagy may provide opportunities for the development of new environmentally friendly pest control strategies.

Inhibition of Helicoverpa armigera gut pro‐proteinase activation in response to synthetic protease inhibitors

AbstractProtease inhibitors play an important role in host plant defence against herbivores. However, insects have the ability to elevate the production of proteinases or resort to production of a diverse array of proteinases to offset the effect of proteinase inhibitors. Therefore, we studied the inhibition of pro‐proteinase(s) activation in the midgut of the polyphagous pest Helicoverpa armigera (Hübner) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) in response to protease inhibitors to develop appropriate strategies for the control of this pest. Gelatin coating present on X‐ray film was used as a substrate to detect electrophoretically separated pro‐proteinases and proteinases of H. armigera gut extract on native‐ and sodium dodecyl sulphate‐polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. Six activated pro‐proteinase bands were detected in H. armigera gut lumen, which were partially purified and characterized using substrate assays. Activated H. armigera midgut pro‐proteinase(s) showed activity maxima at pH 8 and 10, and exhibited optimal activity at 40 °C. The activation of H. armigera gut pro‐proteinase isoforms was observed in the fraction eluted on benzamidine‐sepharose 4B column. Purification and substrate assay studies revealed that 23–70 kDa polypeptides were likely the trypsin/chymotrypsin‐like pro‐proteinases. Larvae of H. armigera fed on a cocktail of synthetic inhibitors (antipain, aprotinin, leupeptin, and pefabloc) showed maximum activation of pro‐proteinases compared with the larvae fed on individual inhibitors. The implications of these results for developing plants expressing proteinase inhibitors for conferring resistance to H. armigera are discussed.

Effectiveness of Bacillus thuringiensis -Transgenic Chickpeas and the Entomopathogenic Fungus Metarhizium anisopliae in Controlling Helicoverpa armigera (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae)

The use of genetically modified (Bt) crops expressing lepidopteran-specific Cry proteins derived from the soil bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis is an effective method to control the polyphagous pest Helicoverpa armigera. As H. armigera potentially develops resistance to Cry proteins, Bt crops should be regarded as one tool in integrated pest management. Therefore, they should be compatible with biological control. Bioassays were conducted to understand the interactions between a Cry2Aa-expressing chickpea line, either a susceptible or a Cry2A-resistant H. armigera strain, and the entomopathogenic fungus Metarhizium anisopliae. In a first concentration-response assay, Cry2A-resistant larvae were more tolerant of M. anisopliae than susceptible larvae, while in a second bioassay, the fungus caused similar mortalities in the two strains fed control chickpea leaves. Thus, resistance to Cry2A did not cause any fitness costs that became visible as increased susceptibility to the fungus. On Bt chickpea leaves, susceptible H. armigera larvae were more sensitive to M. anisopliae than on control leaves. It appeared that sublethal damage induced by the B. thuringiensis toxin enhanced the effectiveness of M. anisopliae. For Cry2A-resistant larvae, the mortalities caused by the fungus were similar when they were fed either food source. To examine which strain would be more likely to be exposed to the fungus, their movements on control and Bt chickpea plants were compared. Movement did not appear to differ among larvae on Bt or conventional chickpeas, as indicated by the number of leaflets damaged per leaf. The findings suggest that Bt chickpeas and M. anisopliae are compatible to control H. armigera.