Dynamics and mechanisms of permethrin resistance in a field population of the horn fly, Haematobia irritans irritans

A study was conducted at the Pressler ranch, near Kerrville, Texas, USA between 2002 and 2006 to determine the dynamics and mechanisms of resistance to permethrin in a field population of the horn fly, Haematobia irritans irritans (L.). Changes of resistance to pyrethroid insecticide associated with use of a pour-on formulation of cyfluthrin in 2002 and use of diazinon ear tags in subsequent years were studied using a filter paper bioassay technique and a polymerase chain reaction assay that detects two sodium channel mutations, kdr and super-kdr resistance alleles. A maximum of 294-fold resistance to permethrin was observed in the summer of 2002. A significant decrease in the resistance level was observed in spring 2003, and resistance continued to decline after animals were treated with diazinon ear tags. In response to pyrethroid treatments, the allelic kdr and super-kdr frequency increased from 56.3% to 93.8% and from 7.5% to 43.8%, respectively in 2002, and decreased significantly in 2003 when the pyrethroid insecticide was no longer used to treat animals. Females were found to have a higher allelic super-kdr frequency than males in 2002, while no difference was detected between males and females in the allelic kdr frequency. There was a significant positive correlation between frequencies of the sodium channel mutations and levels of permethrin resistance, suggesting that the sodium channel mutations, kdr and super-kdr , are the major mechanisms of resistance to pyrethroids in this horn fly population. Results of synergist bioassays also indicated possible contributions of two metabolic detoxification mechanisms, the mixed function oxidases (MFO) and glutathione S-transferases (GST). Compared to a horn fly infestation of an untreated herd, treatments with the pyrethroid pour-on formulation failed to control horn flies at the Pressler ranch in 2002. Sustained control of horn flies was achieved with the use of diazinon ear tags in 2003 and subsequent years.     

High-resolution melt analysis of DNA methylation to discriminate semen in biological stains

The goal of this study was to develop a method for the detection of semen in biological stains using high-resolution melt (HRM) analysis and DNA methylation. To perform this task, we used an epigenetic locus that targets a tissue-specific differentially methylated region for semen. This specific locus, ZC3H12D, contains methylated CpG sites that are hypomethylated in semen and hypermethylated in blood and saliva. Using this procedure, DNA from forensic stains can be isolated, processed using bisulfite-modified polymerase chain reaction (PCR), and detected by real-time PCR with HRM capability. The method described in this article is robust; we were able to obtain results from samples with as little as 1 ng of genomic DNA. Samples inhibited by humic acid still produced reliable results. Furthermore, the procedure is specific and will not amplify non-bisulfite-modified DNA. Because this process can be performed using real-time PCR and is quantitative, it fits nicely within the workflow of current forensic DNA laboratories. As a result, it should prove to be a useful technique for processing trace evidence samples for serological analysis.     

与拟除虫菊酯抗性相关的烟粉虱钠通道基因突变及其检测

通过RT-PCR克隆了烟粉虱Bemisia tabaci (Gennadius) 南京种群(B-生物型)的钠离子通道结构域ⅡS4-6 cDNA片段,证实了与拟除虫菊酯抗性相关的是位于第925位亮氨酸到异亮氨酸的突变(L925I),并建立了L925I突变的PASA检测技术。与SUD-S敏感品系相比,2002年采自南京棉花上的烟粉虱种群对氯氰菊酯具有77倍的抗性,用氯氰菊酯对该种群进行多次筛选后,该种群对氯氰菊酯的抗药性提高到227倍。PASA检测结果表明筛选后的南京种群中100%个体都具有L925I突变(61.1%的个体为L925I突变纯合子,38.9%的个体为杂合子),而未筛选的南京种群只有75%个体具有L925I突变(35%个体为L925I突变纯合子,40%的个体为杂合子,25%的个体为野生型)。该结果表明了烟粉虱钠离子通道L925I突变与对拟除虫菊酯抗性密切相关。还讨论了烟粉虱对拟除虫菊酯抗性的代谢机理。     

Chronology of sodium channel mutations associated with pyrethroid resistance in Aedes aegypti

Aedes aegypti is the primary mosquito vector of dengue, yellow fever, Zika and chikungunya. Current strategies to control Ae. aegypti rely heavily on insecticide interventions. Pyrethroids are a major class of insecticides used for mosquito control because of their fast acting, highly insecticidal activities and low mammalian toxicity. However, Ae. aegypti populations around the world have begun to develop resistance to pyrethroids. So far, more than a dozen mutations in the sodium channel gene have been reported to be associated with pyrethroid resistance in Ae. aegypti. Co-occurrence of resistance-associated mutations is common in pyrethroid-resistant Ae. aegypti populations. As global use of pyrethroids in mosquito control continues, new pyrethroid-resistant mutations keep emerging. In this microreview, we compile pyrethroid resistance-associated mutations in Ae. aegypti in a chronological order, as they were reported, and summarize findings from functional evaluation of these mutations in an in vitro sodium channel expression system. We hope that the information will be useful for tracing possible evolution of pyrethroid resistance in this important human disease vector, in addition to the development of methods for global monitoring and management of pyrethroid resistance in Ae. aegypti.     

Modifications of pyrethroid effects associated with kdr mutation in Anopheles gambiae

Effects of knockdown resistance (kdr) were investigated in three pyrethroid‐resistant (RR) strains of the Afrotropical mosquito Anopheles gambiae Giles (Diptera: Culicidae): Kou from Burkina Faso, Tola and Yao from Côte d'Ivoire; compared with a standard susceptible (SS) strain from Kisumu, Kenya. The kdr factor was incompletely recessive, conferring 43‐fold resistance ratio at LD₅₀ level and 29‐fold at LD₉₅ level, as determined by topical application tests with Kou strain. When adult mosquitoes were exposed to 0.25% permethrin‐impregnated papers, the 50% and 95% knockdown times (KdT) were 23 and 42 min for SS females, compared with 40 and 62 min for RS (F₁ Kou × Kisumu) females. On 1% permethrin the KdT₅₀ and KdT₉₅ were 11 and 21 min for SS compared with 18 and 33 min for RS females. Following 1 h exposure to permethrin (0.25% or 1%), no significant knockdown of Kou RR females occurred within 24 h. Permethrin irritancy to An. gambiae was assessed by comparing ‘time to first take‐off’ (TO) for females. The standard TO₅₀ and TO₉₅ values for Kisumu SS on untreated paper were 58 and 1044 s, respectively, vs. 3.7 and 16.5 s on 1% permethrin. For Kou RR females the comparable values were 27.3 s for TO₅₀ and 294 s for TO₉₅, with intermediate RS values of 10.1 s for TO₅₀ and 71.9 s for TO₉₅. Thus, TO values for RS were 2.7–4.4 times more than for SS, and those for RR were 7–18 times longer than for SS. Experiments with pyrethroid‐impregnated nets were designed to induce hungry female mosquitoes to pass through holes cut in the netting. Laboratory ‘tunnel tests’ used a bait guinea‐pig to attract mosquitoes through circular holes (5 × 1 cm) in a net screen. With untreated netting, 75–83% of laboratory‐reared females passed through the holes overnight, 63–69% blood‐fed successfully and 9–17% died, with no significant differences between SS and RR genotypes. When the netting was treated with permethrin 250 mg ai/m² the proportions that passed through the holes overnight were only 10% of SS vs. 40–46% of RR (Tola & Kou); mortality rates were 100% of SS compared with 59–82% of RR; bloodmeals were obtained by 9% of Kou RR and 17% of Tola RR, but none of the Kisumu SS females. When the net was treated with deltamethrin 25 mg ai/m² the proportions of An. gambiae that went through the holes and blood‐fed successfully were 3.9% of Kisumu SS and 3.5% of Yaokoffikro field population (94% R). Mortality rates were 97% of Kisumu SS vs. 47% of Yaokoffikro R. Evidently this deltamethrin treatment was sufficient to kill nearly all SS and half of the Yaokoffikro R An. gambiae population despite its high kdr frequency. Experimental huts at Yaokoffikro were used for overnight evaluation of bednets against An. gambiae females. The huts were sealed to prevent egress of mosquitoes released at 20.00 hours and collected at 05.00 hours. Each net was perforated with 225 square holes (2 × 2 cm). A man slept under the net as bait. With untreated nets, only 4–6% of mosquitoes died overnight and bloodmeals were taken by 17% of SS vs. 29% of Yaokoffikro R (P < 0.05). Nets treated with permethrin 500 mg/m² caused mortality rates of 95% Kisumu SS and 45% Yao R (P < 0.001) and blood‐feeding rates were reduced to 1.3% of SS vs. 8.1% of Yao R (P < 0.05). Nets treated with deltamethrin 25 mg/m² caused mortality rates of 91% Kisumu SS and 54% Yao R (P < 0.001) and reduced blood‐feeding rates to zero for SS vs. 2.5% for Yao R (P > 0.05). Pyrethroid‐impregnated bednets in experimental huts and ‘tunnel tests’ gave equivalent results, showing that nets impregnated with permethrin or deltamethrin provided good levels of protection against kdr homozygous strains of An. gambiae (Kou and Tola), and against the field population at Yaokoffikro with 94% kdr frequency. The explanation seems to be that (a) high proportions of kdr females are killed by prolonged contact with pyrethroids through diminished sensitivity to the usual irritant and repellent effects, and (b) relatively few kdr females take advantage of this prolonged contact to ingest a bloodmeal.     

Molecular evidence for a kdr-like pyrethroid resistance mechanism in the malaria vector mosquito Anopheles stephensi

The mosquito Anopheles stephensi Liston (Diptera: Culicidae) is the urban vector of malaria in several countries of the Middle East and Indian subcontinent. Extensive use of residual insecticide spraying for malaria vector control has selected An. stephensi resistance to DDT, dieldrin, malathion and other organophosphates throughout much of its range and to pyrethroids in the Middle East. Metabolic resistance mechanisms and insensitivity to pyrethroids, so-called knockdown resistance (kdr), have previously been reported in An. stephensi. Here we provide molecular data supporting the hypothesis that a kdr-like pyrethroid-resistance mechanism is present in An. stephensi. We found that larvae of a pyrethroid-selected strain from Dubai (DUB-R) were 182-fold resistant to permethin, compared with a standard susceptible strain of An. stephensi. Activities of some enzymes likely to confer pyrethroid-resistance (i.e. esterases, monooxygenases and glutathione S-transferases) were significantly higher in the permethrin-resistant than in the susceptible strain, but the use of synergists--piperonyl butoxide (PBO) to inhibit monooxygenases and/or tribufos (DEF) to inhibit esterases--did not fully prevent resistance in larvae (permethrin LC50 reduced by only 51-68%), indicating the involvement of another mechanism. From both strains of An. stephensi, we obtained a 237-bp fragment of genomic DNA encoding segment 6 of domain II of the para type voltage-gated sodium channel, i.e. the putative kdr locus. By sequencing this 237 bp fragment, we identified one point mutation difference involving a single A-T base change encoding a leucine to phenylalanine amino acid substitution in the pyrethroid-resistant strain. This mutation appears to be homologous with those detected in An. gambiae and other insects with kdr-like resistance. A diagnostic polymerase chain reaction assay using nested primers was therefore designed to detect this mechanism in An. stephensi.     

昆虫钠通道的结构和与击倒抗性有关的基因突变

击倒抗性(kdr)是指昆虫和其他节肢动物由于它们的神经系统对DDT和拟除虫菊酯类杀虫剂的敏感性降低而引起的抗性。电压敏感的钠通道是DDT和拟除虫菊酯类杀虫剂的主要靶标。已知拟除虫菊酯是通过改变位于神经膜上的这类通道而发挥其杀虫效果的,钠通道基因的点突变是产生kdr抗性的主要原因。40年来kdr抗性一直是重要的研究课题,但近10年来在kdr分子生物学方面取得了很大进展。本文主要综述了1996年以来所取得的新进展,着重于钠通道的结构、在14种害虫中与kdr抗性相关的钠通道基因突变及其氨基酸序列的多态性。这些结果有助于对拟除虫菊酯改变钠通道的功能及其机理作进一步探究。     

昆虫击倒抗性基因突变对钠通道功能的影响

该文综述了昆虫钠通道基因的表达与功能特性、击倒抗性突变的功能和这些突变对钠通道门控的影响,以及钠通道基因突变与抗性表现型之间的因果关系;还讨论了这些突变增强击倒抗性的分子机理。     

Two novel sodium channel mutations associated with resistance to indoxacarb and metaflumizone in the diamondback moth,Plutella xylostella

Indoxacarb and metaflumizone belong to a relatively new class of sodium channel blocker insecticides (SCBIs). Due to intensive use of indoxacarb, field‐evolved indoxacarb resistance has been reported in several lepidopteran pests, including the diamondback moth Plutella xylostella, a serious pest of cruciferous crops. In particular, the BY12 population of P. xylostella, collected from Baiyun, Guangdong Province of China in 2012, was 750‐fold more resistant to indoxacarb and 70‐fold more resistant to metaflumizone compared with the susceptible Roth strain. Comparison of complementary DNA sequences encoding the sodium channel genes of Roth and BY12 revealed two point mutations (F1845Y and V1848I) in the sixth segment of domain IV of the PxNa_v protein in the BY population. Both mutations are located within a highly conserved sequence region that is predicted to be involved in the binding sites of local anesthetics and SCBIs based on mammalian sodium channels. A significant correlation was observed among 10 field‐collected populations between the mutant allele (Y1845 or I1848) frequencies (1.7% to 52.5%) and resistance levels to both indoxacarb (34‐ to 870‐fold) and metaflumizone (1‐ to 70‐fold). The two mutations were never found to co‐exist in the same allele of PxNa_v, suggesting that they arose independently. This is the first time that sodium channel mutations have been associated with high levels of resistance to SCBIs. F1845Y and V1848I are molecular markers for resistance monitoring in the diamondback moth and possibly other insect pest species.     

Permethrin resistance variation and susceptible reference line isolation in a field population of the mosquito,Culex quinquefasciatus (Diptera: Culicidae)

This study examines the genetic variations and mechanisms involved in the development of permethrin resistance in individual mosquitoes from a field population of Culex quinquefasciatus, HAmCq^G0, and characterizes susceptible reference lines of mosquitoes with a similar genetic background to the field HAmCq^G0 strain. Six upregulated cytochrome P450 genes, CYP9M10, CYP9J34, CYP6P14, CYP9J40, CYP6AA7, and CYP4C52v1, previously identified as being upregulated in the larvae of resistant HAmCq^G8 mosquitoes were examined in the larvae of 3 strains (susceptible S‐Lab, parental HAmCq^G0 and permethrin‐selected highly resistant HAmCq^G8) and 8 HAmCq^G0 single‐egg raft colonies, covering a range of levels of susceptibility/resistance to permethrin and exhibiting different variations in the expression of A and/or T alleles at the L‐to‐F kdr locus of the sodium channel. The 2 lines with the lowest tolerance to permethrin and bearing solely the susceptible A allele at the L‐to‐F kdr locus of the sodium channels, from colonies Cx_SERC5 and Cx_SERC8, showed lower or similar levels of all 6 of the P450 genes tested compared with the S‐Lab strain, suggesting that these 2 lines could be used as the reference mosquitoes in future studies characterizing insecticide resistance in HAmCq mosquitoes. This study also provides a detailed investigation of the mechanisms involved in insecticide resistance in individuals within a population: individuals with elevated levels of resistance to permethrin all displayed one or more potential resistance mechanisms–either elevated levels of P450 gene expression, or L‐to‐F mutations in the sodium channel, or both.     

Identification of a mutation associated with permethrin resistance in the para-type sodium channel of the stable fly (Diptera: Muscidae)

The insect sodium channel is of particular interest for evaluating resistance to pyrethroids because it is the target molecule for this major class of neurotoxic insecticides. The stable fly, Stomoxys calcitrans (L.) (Diptera: Muscidae), sodium channel coding sequence representing domains IS6 through IVS6 was isolated, and the sequence encoding domain II was compared among individuals of a laboratory strain selected for resistance to permethrin and the unselected, parental generation. A point mutation resulting in a leucine-to-histidine amino acid change was identified (Leul014His), and its location corresponded with that observed for knockdown resistance (kdr) mutations in other insects. As a result, the allele was designated kdr-his. A molecular assay was developed to assess the frequency of this mutation in genomic DNA of individual stable flies from the laboratory selections, which provided further evidence that the kdr-his allele accounts for the observed level ofpermethrin resistance in the selected strain. The assay was then used to evaluate the frequency of the mutation from five field-collected populations originating from three horse farms near Ocala, FL; one horse farm near Gainesville, FL; and one dairy farm near Hague, FL. Frequency of the kdr-his allele ranged from 0.46 to 0.78, supporting further investigation of allele prevalence throughout the stable fly season and in response to field insecticide application.     

Pyrethroid and DDT cross-resistance in Aedes aegypti is correlated with novel mutations in the voltage-gated sodium channel gene

Samples of the dengue vector mosquito Aedes aegypti (L.) (Diptera: Culicidae) were collected from 13 localities between 1995 and 1998. Two laboratory strains, Bora (French Polynesia) and AEAE, were both susceptible to DDT and permethrin; all other strains, except Larentuka (Indonesia) and Bouaké (Ivory Coast), contained individual fourth-instar larvae resistant to permethrin. Ten strains were subjected to a range of biochemical assays. Many strains had elevated carboxylesterase activity compared to the Bora strain; this was particularly high in the Indonesian strains Salatiga and Semarang, and in the Guyane strain (Cayenne). Monooxygenase levels were increased in the Salatiga and Paea (Polynesia) strains, and reduced in the two Thai strains (Mae Kaza, Mae Kud) and the Larentuka strain. Glutathione S-transferase activity was elevated in the Guyane strain. All other enzyme profiles were similar to the susceptible strain. The presence of both DDT and pyrethroid resistance in the Semarang, Belem (Brazil) and Long Hoa (Vietnam) strains suggested the presence of a knock-down resistant (kdr)-type resistance mechanism. Part of the S6 hydrophobic segment of domain II of the voltage-gated sodium channel gene was obtained by RT-PCR and sequenced from several insects from all 13 field strains. Four novel mutations were identified. Three strains contained identical amino acid substitutions at two positions, two strains shared a different substitution, and one strain was homozygous for a fourth alteration. The leucine to phenylalanine substitution that confers nerve insensitivity to pyrethroids in a range of other resistant insects was absent. Direct neurophysiological assays on individual larvae from three strains with these mutations demonstrated reduced nerve sensitivity to permethrin or lambda cyhalothrin inhibition compared to the susceptible strains.     

Point mutations in the Drosophila sodium channel gene para associated with resistance to DDT and pyrethroid insecticides

The gene para in Drosophila melanogaster encodes an α subunit of voltage-activated sodium channels, the presumed site of action of DDT and pyrethroid insecticides. We used an existing collection of Drosophila para mutants to examine the molecular basis of target-site resistance to pyrethroids and DDT. Six out of thirteen mutants tested were associated with a largely dominant, 10- to 30-fold increase in DDT resistance. The amino acid lesions associated with these alleles defined four sites in the sodium channel polypeptide where a mutational change can cause resistance: within the intracellular loop between S4 and S5 in homology domains I and III, within the pore region of homology domain III, and within S6 in homology domain III. Some of these sites are analogous with those defined by knockdown resistance (kdr) and super-kdr resistance-associated mutations in houseflies and other insects, but are located in different homologous units of the channel polypeptide. We find a striking synergism in resistance levels with particular heterozygous combinations of para alleles that appears to mimic the super-kdr double mutant housefly phenotype. Our results indicate that the alleles analyzed from natural populations represent only a subset of mutations that can confer resistance. The implications for the binding site of pyrethroids and mechanisms of target-site insensitivity are discussed. Received: 9 May 1997 / Accepted: 21 July 1997     

Mutations in the Bemisia tabaci para sodium channel gene associated with resistance to a pyrethroid plus organophosphate mixture

The voltage-gated sodium channel is the primary target site of pyrethroid insecticides. In some insects, super knockdown resistance (super-kdr) to pyrethroids is caused by point mutations in the linker fragment between transmembrane segments 4 and 5 of the para-type sodium channel protein domain II (IIS4-5). Here, we identify two mutations in the IIS4-5 linker of the para-type sodium channel of the whitefly, Bemisia tabaci: methionine to valine at position 918 (M918V) and leucine to isoleucine at position 925 (L925I). Although each mutation was isolated independently from strains >100-fold resistant to a pyrethroid (fenpropathrin) plus organophosphate (acephate) mixture, only L925I was associated with resistance in strains derived from the field in 2000 and 2001. The L925I mutation occurred in all individuals from nine different field collections that survived exposure to a discriminating concentration of fenpropathrin plus acephate. Linkage analysis of hemizygous male progeny of unmated heterozygous F1 females (L925I×wild-type) shows that the observed resistance is tightly linked to the voltage-gated sodium channel locus. The results provide a molecular tool for better understanding, monitoring and managing pyrethroid resistance in B. tabaci.     

Identification of a mutation in the para-sodium channel gene of the cattle tick Rhipicephalus (Boophilus) microplus associated with resistance to synthetic pyrethroid acaricides

Resistance against synthetic pyrethroid (SP) products for the control of cattle ticks in Australia was detected in the field in 1984, within a very short time of commercial introduction. We have identified a mutation in the domain II S4-5 linker of the para-sodium channel that is associated with resistance to SPs in the cattle tick Rhipicephalus (Boophilus) microplus from Australia. The cytosine to adenine mutation at position 190 in the R. microplus sequence AF134216, results in an amino acid substitution from leucine in the susceptible strain to isoleucine in the resistant strain. A similar mutation has been shown to confer SP resistance in the whitefly, Bemisia tabaci, but has not been described previously in ticks. A diagnostic quantitative PCR assay has been developed using allele-specific Taqman^® minor groove-binding (MGB) probes. Using the assay to screen field and laboratory populations of ticks showed that homozygote allelic frequencies correlated highly with the survival percentage at the discriminating concentration of cypermethrin.     

Inheritance of L1014F and M918T sodium channel mutations associated with pyrethroid resistance in Myzus persicae

Two amino acid substitutions (L1014F and M918T) in the voltage-gated sodium channel confer target-site resistance to pyrethroid insecticides in the peach potato aphid, Myzus persicae. Pyrethroid-resistant and -susceptible M. persicae clones with various combinations of these mutations were crossed under laboratory conditions, and the genotypes of aphid progeny were analysed by direct DNA sequencing of the IIS4-S6 region of the sodium channel gene. Segregation patterns showed that in aphids heterozygous for both L1014F and M918T, both mutations were present in the same resistance allele. Despite these mutations appearing largely recessive in other pest species, such aphids exhibited strong resistance to pyrethroids in leaf-dip bioassays. These results have important implications for the spread and management of pyrethroid resistance in field populations.