Inhibition of transcriptional regulation of detoxification genes contributes to insecticide resistance management in Spodoptera exigua
Abstract Synthetic insecticides have been widely used for the prevention and control of disease vectors and agricultural pests. However, frequent uses of insecticides have resulted in the development of insecticide resistance in these insect pests. The resistance adversely affects the efficacy of in...
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| Language: | English |
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Nature Portfolio
2025-01-01
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| Series: | Communications Biology |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1038/s42003-025-07560-8 |
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| author | Bo Hu Yuping Deng Tao Lu Miaomiao Ren Kuitun Liu Cong Rao Hailiang Guo Jianya Su |
| author_facet | Bo Hu Yuping Deng Tao Lu Miaomiao Ren Kuitun Liu Cong Rao Hailiang Guo Jianya Su |
| author_sort | Bo Hu |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Synthetic insecticides have been widely used for the prevention and control of disease vectors and agricultural pests. However, frequent uses of insecticides have resulted in the development of insecticide resistance in these insect pests. The resistance adversely affects the efficacy of insecticides, and seriously reduces the lifespan of insecticides. Therefore, resistance management requires new strategies to suppress insecticide resistance. Here, we confirm that CncC/Maf are the key regulators of various detoxification genes involved in insecticide resistance in Spodoptera exigua. Then, we develop a cell screening platform to identify the natural compound inhibitors of CncC/Maf and determine that sofalcone can act as a CncC/Maf inhibitor in vitro and in vivo. Bioassay results showed that sofalcone significantly enhanced the toxicity (more than 3-fold) of chlorpyrifos and lambda-cyhalothrin against S. exigua larvae. Finally, we demonstrate that sofalcone can greatly improve the susceptibility of S. exigua larvae to insecticides by inhibiting the activity of the ROS/CncC-dependent detoxifying enzymes and downregulating the expression levels of detoxification genes. CncC/Maf inhibitors can be used as broad-spectrum synergists to overcome insecticide resistance in pest populations. Altogether, our results demonstrate that reduced expression of detoxification genes resulting from suppression of transcriptional regulation of these genes contributes to controlling insecticide resistance, which provides a very novel and high-efficiency green resistance management strategy. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-310d8495d900496f87d5653937d7f281 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2399-3642 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
| publisher | Nature Portfolio |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Communications Biology |
| spelling | doaj-art-310d8495d900496f87d5653937d7f2812025-02-02T12:37:18ZengNature PortfolioCommunications Biology2399-36422025-01-018111310.1038/s42003-025-07560-8Inhibition of transcriptional regulation of detoxification genes contributes to insecticide resistance management in Spodoptera exiguaBo Hu0Yuping Deng1Tao Lu2Miaomiao Ren3Kuitun Liu4Cong Rao5Hailiang Guo6Jianya Su7Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Sericultural and Animal Biotechnology, School of Biotechnology, Jiangsu University of Science and TechnologyJiangsu Key Laboratory of Sericultural and Animal Biotechnology, School of Biotechnology, Jiangsu University of Science and TechnologyJiangsu Key Laboratory of Sericultural and Animal Biotechnology, School of Biotechnology, Jiangsu University of Science and TechnologyCollege of Environment and Chemical Engineering, Jiangsu University of Science and TechnologyKey Laboratory of Integrated Management of Crop Diseases and Pests (Ministry of Education), College of Plant Protection, Nanjing Agricultural UniversityKey Laboratory of Integrated Management of Crop Diseases and Pests (Ministry of Education), College of Plant Protection, Nanjing Agricultural UniversityKey Laboratory of Integrated Management of Crop Diseases and Pests (Ministry of Education), College of Plant Protection, Nanjing Agricultural UniversityKey Laboratory of Integrated Management of Crop Diseases and Pests (Ministry of Education), College of Plant Protection, Nanjing Agricultural UniversityAbstract Synthetic insecticides have been widely used for the prevention and control of disease vectors and agricultural pests. However, frequent uses of insecticides have resulted in the development of insecticide resistance in these insect pests. The resistance adversely affects the efficacy of insecticides, and seriously reduces the lifespan of insecticides. Therefore, resistance management requires new strategies to suppress insecticide resistance. Here, we confirm that CncC/Maf are the key regulators of various detoxification genes involved in insecticide resistance in Spodoptera exigua. Then, we develop a cell screening platform to identify the natural compound inhibitors of CncC/Maf and determine that sofalcone can act as a CncC/Maf inhibitor in vitro and in vivo. Bioassay results showed that sofalcone significantly enhanced the toxicity (more than 3-fold) of chlorpyrifos and lambda-cyhalothrin against S. exigua larvae. Finally, we demonstrate that sofalcone can greatly improve the susceptibility of S. exigua larvae to insecticides by inhibiting the activity of the ROS/CncC-dependent detoxifying enzymes and downregulating the expression levels of detoxification genes. CncC/Maf inhibitors can be used as broad-spectrum synergists to overcome insecticide resistance in pest populations. Altogether, our results demonstrate that reduced expression of detoxification genes resulting from suppression of transcriptional regulation of these genes contributes to controlling insecticide resistance, which provides a very novel and high-efficiency green resistance management strategy.https://doi.org/10.1038/s42003-025-07560-8 |
| spellingShingle | Bo Hu Yuping Deng Tao Lu Miaomiao Ren Kuitun Liu Cong Rao Hailiang Guo Jianya Su Inhibition of transcriptional regulation of detoxification genes contributes to insecticide resistance management in Spodoptera exigua Communications Biology |
| title | Inhibition of transcriptional regulation of detoxification genes contributes to insecticide resistance management in Spodoptera exigua |
| title_full | Inhibition of transcriptional regulation of detoxification genes contributes to insecticide resistance management in Spodoptera exigua |
| title_fullStr | Inhibition of transcriptional regulation of detoxification genes contributes to insecticide resistance management in Spodoptera exigua |
| title_full_unstemmed | Inhibition of transcriptional regulation of detoxification genes contributes to insecticide resistance management in Spodoptera exigua |
| title_short | Inhibition of transcriptional regulation of detoxification genes contributes to insecticide resistance management in Spodoptera exigua |
| title_sort | inhibition of transcriptional regulation of detoxification genes contributes to insecticide resistance management in spodoptera exigua |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1038/s42003-025-07560-8 |
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