Behavioral response of female Helicoverpa armigera (Hübner) to different plant part extracts of African marigold Tagetes erecta (L.)

The flowering stage of African marigold Tagetes erecta (L.) was the most preferred for oviposition by Helicoverpa armigera (Hübner). The lower sides of leaf margins received more eggs compared to buds, stem tip and flowers. Olfactometer studies revealed that more female moths were attracted towards the flower extracts, followed by leaf, bud and stem tip extracts of African marigold. The thin layer chromatography analysis of these extracts showed a blend of compounds including careen, ocimene, methyl benzoate, phenyl acetaldehyde and phenyl ethanol. Attempts have been made to correlate insect behavior with the presence of these compounds.     

Aggregative oviposition behaviour of Helicoverpa spp. (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) in contaminated chickpea crops

Abstract Aggregative egg distribution by Helicoverpa spp. within experimental field plots of chickpea containing various contaminant plant species was documented at different stages of plant growth. More eggs were laid on contaminant faba and wheat plants than on the surrounding chickpea. The level of egg aggregation on faba and wheat plants increased with general crop growth, becoming evident before a significant disparity in growth rates between these species and the surrounding chickpea became apparent. In chickpea plots contaminated with canola, aggregative oviposition activity on the contaminant plants was observed in the early seedling stage whilst a clear height differential between the two species was evident. Total Helicoverpa egg density on contaminant plants was not correlated with height above chickpea for any of the contaminant species. It is proposed that the aggregative oviposition behaviour of Helicoverpa spp. in contaminated chickpea results from differential apparency of the contaminant plants to ovipositing moths. Differential apparency may result from several factors including growth rate and morphological differences between chickpea and the contaminants. Physiological changes in chickpea, including growth stage-related changes in acid production by the foliage, may also contribute to the greater apparency of contaminant plants in chickpea plots. The implications of differential host plant apparency for insect pest management are discussed.     

Cage experiments on Orius tantillus predation of Helicoverpa armigera

The role of Orius tantillus (Motschulsky) (Hemiptera: Anthocoridae) in the predation of H. armigera was studied on both sorghum (Sorghum bicolor L.) and pigeonpea (Cajanus cajan L.), the predominant intercrop of small farmers in Andhra Pradesh, India. Adult Orius tantillus was observed in cages where there were eggs and first-instar larvae of H. armigera on sorghum and pigeonpea. We found that O. tantillus had two diurnal peaks of activity, after sunrise and before sunset. O. tantillus was found preying on first-instar larvae and not on eggs. However, a later immunoassay of O. tantillus collected on sorghum during a peak period of H. armigera oviposition activity showed that predation of eggs did occur under certain conditions. The activity of O. tantillus on sorghum was significantly higher on the flowers than elsewhere but this was not the case on pigeonpea. Therefore O. tantillus was a significantly more efficient predator on sorghum than on pigeonpea. The results indicate that O. tantillus could be an important predator of early stages of an H. armigera infestation, particularly in sorghum.     

Developmental changes in the patterns of feeding in fourth- and fifth-instar Helicoverpa armigera caterpillars

Data are presented for developmental changes in feeding behaviour within and across the fourth and fifth stadium of Helicoverpa armigera (Lepidoptera, Noctuidae) caterpillars fed nutritionally homogeneous semi‐synthetic foods. We recorded the microstructure of feeding over continuous 12‐h periods on consecutive days throughout the two stadia, and in one experiment recorded continuously for 21 h. Larvae in the two stadia showed the same general pattern of macro‐events in feeding, including a similar duration of post‐ecdysis fast, which was usually broken by consumption of the exuviae, and then a sustained period in which discrete meals on the experimental food were taken regularly. There were, however, some distinct differences in the patterns of meal‐taking both between stadia and across different one‐third time segments within stadia. Considering between‐stadium differences, the proportion of time spent feeding differed significantly only in the last segment of the feeding period of the two stadia, with the value for the fourth‐instar larvae being substantially greater than for fifth‐instar larvae. As regards within stadium changes, the proportion of time feeding increased from the first to the second segment of both stadia. However, whereas the proportion of time feeding increased from the second to the final segment of the fourth stadium, it decreased across the same period in the fifth stadium. These patterns of changes in the proportion of time feeding within and between stadia, and their behavioural mechanisms (combination of meal durations and meal frequencies), can be explained only partially with reference to increasing food requirements with development. Three areas are identified where further study might help elucidate the reasons for the observed developmental changes in the microstructure of feeding: allometric constraint, the dynamic links between ingestion and post‐ingestive processing, and ecological factors such as predation.     

棉铃虫取食转Bt棉后蛹的抗寒力测定

在棉铃虫HelicoverpaarmigeraH櫣bner人工饲料中分别添加转Bt基因棉叶粉和常规棉叶粉饲喂幼虫,经滞育诱导后,发现2个处理间棉铃虫蛹的滞育率相似,2个处理间滞育蛹的自由水和结合水含量没有差异;但取食含Bt棉叶粉人工饲料的棉铃虫滞育蛹的过冷却点和结冰点显著高于对照组,蛹重及与抗寒性有关的脂肪和糖原含量均显著低于对照组。     

棉铃虫细胞色素P450 CO差光谱的测定

采用经典的CO差光谱方法测定棉铃虫Helicoverpa armigera细胞色素P450含量时发现,同一样品的多次平行测定结果间差异显著。进一步研究表明测定时通入CO后的间隔时间不同,计算出的P450含量存在1～16倍的差异。多次连续扫描结果表明A_450nm-490nm与通入CO后到扫描的时间间隔呈钟形曲线,说明CO与P450的结合需要一定的时间,以A_450nm-490nm最大值计算P450含量最为准确。     

从大豆中纯化棉铃虫组织蛋白酶B抑制因子HCB-SoyI

棉铃虫组织蛋白酶B（Helicoverpa armigera cathepsin B,HCB） 在胚胎发育过程中降解卵黄蛋白为氨基酸,供给胚胎发育必需的养料,是棉铃虫胚胎正常发育的重要因素。许多植物种子中存在蛋白酶抑制因子,如大豆和向日葵种子。用棉铃虫组织蛋白酶B为酶源,通过硫酸铵沉淀、排阻层析和离子交换层析等方法,从大豆中分离纯化到了一种对HCB有抑制活性的蛋白酶抑制因子,命名为HCB-SoyI。用牛血清白蛋白为底物进一步证明该抑制因子对HCB具有抑制作用。该抑制因子的纯化为进一步克隆其基因奠定了基础,为转基因抗虫作物研究提供了新的候选靶标。     

棉铃虫幼虫中肠非糖基磷酯酰肌醇锚着氨肽酶N基因的克隆和测序

通过对棉铃虫Helicoverpa armigera (Hübner)幼虫中肠氨肽酶N的克隆和测序,鉴定了1个氨肽酶N基因APN1,其cDNA序列具有3 220个核苷酸,具有3 042 bp的开放阅读框,编码产生1 014个氨基酸的蛋白质。其推定的氨基酸序列具有氨肽酶N所共有的锌结合模体HEXXHX₁₈E和N末端20个氨基酸的疏水性信号序列,但C末端没有糖基磷酯酰肌醇（glycosylphosphatidylinositol,GPI）锚添加信号序列。该氨肽酶N的cDNA序列已提交GenBank,登录号为AY358034。     

重组棉铃虫病毒的外源基因向其他生物的转移

本文报道了基因工程棉铃虫核多角体病毒(HaSNPV-AaIT)的外源蝎子毒素基因(AaIT)是否会向环境中的植物病原微生物或捕食性天敌转移的实验结果。首先,于实验室内将重组病毒HaSNPV-AaIT与棉花黄萎病病菌(VerticilliumdahliaeLleb.)进行了长达90d的混合培养,在混合培养30d,60d和90d后分别提取棉花黄萎病病菌的基因组DNA,用AaIT基因作探针进行点杂交,结果显示无阳性信号。另外,从多次施用过重组病毒的棉花田中采集了120只龟纹瓢虫和七星瓢虫,利用健康蚜虫饲养3-4d,用碱解液处理瓢虫体表后,从处理液中可以检测到病毒DNA;但瓢虫体表经碱解液和Dnase处理后,从瓢虫体内提取的基因组DNA,用PCR和斑点杂交的方法,都没有检测到AaIT的序列存在。本研究的实验结果说明,基因工程病毒的外源基因向其它生物转移的可能性极低。     

Relative contribution of detoxifying enzymes to pyrethroid resistance in a resistant strain of Helicoverpa armigera

Abstract:  The relative contribution of oxidases and esterases to pyrethroid resistance was studied in a YS-FP strain of Helicoverpa armigera from China. The YS-FP strain was derived from a field-collected strain (YS) by 16 generations of selection with a mixture of fenvalerate and phoxim. Compared with the YS strain, the YS-FP strain showed 1850- to >7140-fold resistance to four ester-bonded phenoxybenzyl alcohol pyrethroids (fenvalerate, deltamethrin, cypermethrin and cyhalothrin), >205-fold resistance to a non-ester phenoxybenzyl alcohol pyrethroid (etofenprox) and only 19-fold resistance to an ester-bonded methylated biphenyl alcohol pyrethroid (bifenthrin). The oxidase inhibitor piperonyl butoxide eliminated most the of resistance to fenvalerate, deltamethrin, cypermethrin, cyhalothrin and etofenprox, whereas the esterase inhibitor S,S,S -tributylphosphorothioate had a small synergistic effect for fenvalerate and cyhalothrin only. This suggests that the resistance to these pyrethroids in the YS-FP strain was mainly because of enhanced oxidative detoxification. The monooxygenase activities of the midguts of sixth-instar larvae of the YS-FP strain to substrates p -nitroanisole, ethoxycoumarin and methoxycoumarin were 3.7-, 4.7- and 10-fold, respectively, compared with that of the YS strain. Glutathione S -transferase activity and esterase activity were not significantly altered in the YS-FP strain. This confirms that enhanced oxidative detoxification was a major mechanism contributing to pyrethroid resistance in the YS-FP strain.