Molecular cloning and expression of CYP6B8: a xanthotoxin-inducible cytochrome P450 cDNA from Helicoverpa zea

Xanthotoxin, a plant allelochemical, induces alpha-cypermethrin insecticide tolerance in Helicoverpa zea (corn earworm); inhibition of tolerance by piperonyl butoxide implicates cytochrome P450 monooxygenases (P450s) in the detoxification of this insecticide. To characterize the xanthotoxin-inducible P450 that might mediate alpha-cypermethrin tolerance in this species, a cDNA library prepared from xanthotoxin-induced H. zea fifth instar larvae was screened with cDNAs encoding furanocoumarin-metabolizing P450s from Papilio polyxenes (CYP6B1v2) and P. glaucus (CYP6B4v2) as well as a sequence-related P450 from Helicoverpa armigera (CYP6B2). One full-length cDNA isolated in this screening shares 51-99% amino acid identity with the CYP6B subfamily of P450s isolated from Papilio and Helicoverpa species and, thus, has been designated CYP6B8. All of these CYP6B subfamily members share a number of highly conserved domains, including substrate recognition site 1 (SRS 1) that is critical for xanthotoxin metabolism by CYP6B1v2 from Papilio polyxenes and coumarin metabolism by CYP2a5 from Mus musculus. Northern and RT-PCR analyses indicate that CYP6B8 expression is strongly induced by xanthotoxin and phenobarbital and negligibly induced by alpha-cypermethrin.     

Molecular analysis of CYP321A1, a novel cytochrome P450 involved in metabolism of plant allelochemicals (furanocoumarins) and insecticides (cypermethrin) in Helicoverpa zea

Cytochrome P450 monooxygenases play a significant role in the detoxification of hostplant allelochemicals and synthetic insecticides in Lepidoptera. In the corn earworm Helicoverpa zea, a noctuid of considerable economic importance, metabolisms of xanthotoxin, a toxic furanocoumarin, and alpha-cypermethrin, an insecticide, are mediated by at least one P450 with a catalytic site capable of accepting both substrates. To further the characterization of P450s in this species, we have cloned three full-length cDNAs encoding two CYP4M subfamily members and a novel CYP321A subfamily member. RNA analyses have demonstrated that the CYP321A1 gene is highly induced (51-fold) in larval midguts in response to xanthotoxin but not cypermethrin. Both CYP4M genes are expressed at negligible levels that are not increased by xanthotoxin or cypermethrin. Baculovirus-mediated expression of the full-length CYP321A1 cDNA has demonstrated that the CYP321A1 protein metabolizes xanthotoxin and angelicin, like the CYP6B1 protein in the furanocoumarin specialist Papilio polyxenes, and alpha-cypermethrin, like the CYP6B8 protein previously characterized in H. zea. In contrast, the CYP4M7 protein does not metabolize xanthotoxin at any detectable level. We conclude that at least two xanthotoxin-inducible P450s from highly divergent subfamilies (CYP6B and CYP321A) contribute to the resistance of H. zea larvae to toxic furanocoumarins and insecticides. Genomic PCR analysis indicates that the CYP321A1 gene has evolved independently from the CYP6B genes known to be present in this insect.     

Effects of a naturally occurring and a synthetic synergist on toxicity of three insecticides and a phytochemical to navel orangeworm (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae)

The navel orangeworm, Amyelois transitella (Walker) (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae), is the most destructive lepidopteran pest of almonds [Prunus dulcis (Mill.) D.A.Webb] and pistachios (Pistacia vera L.) in California and is a serious problem in figs (Ficus carica L.) and walnuts (Juglans spp.). In addition to direct damage, larval feeding leaves nuts vulnerable to infection by Aspergillus spp., fungi that produce toxic aflatoxins. A potentially safe and sustainable approach for managing navel orangeworm in orchards may be to use natural essential oil synergists to interfere with this insect's ability to detoxify insecticides and phytochemicals. We tested the effects of a naturally occurring plant-derived chemical, myristicin, and a synthetic inhibitor of cytochrome P450 monooxygenases (P450s), piperonyl butoxide, on the toxicity of three insecticides (alpha-cypermethrin, tau-fluvalinate, and methoxyfenozide [Intrepid]) and a phytochemical (xanthotoxin) to A. transitella. Piperonyl butoxide significantly synergized alpha-cypermethrin and tau-fluvalinate, whereas myristicin synergized only alpha-cypermethrin. Piperonyl butoxide synergized the toxicity of xanthotoxin as early as 72 h after exposure, whereas myristicin synergized xanthotoxin after 120 h. In view of these findings and the limited availability of environmentally safe synthetic insecticides for sustainable management, particularly in organic orchards, myristicin is a potential field treatment in combination with insecticides to reduce both navel orangeworm survival and aflatoxin contamination of nuts. In addition, this study demonstrates that in A. transitella the insect growth regulator methoxyfenozide is not detoxified by P450s.     

Toxicity, synergism, and neurological effects of novel volatile insecticides in insecticide-susceptible and -resistant Drosophila strains

Naturally derived volatile insecticides from the heterobicyclic and formate ester classes were investigated using a combination of volatility and synergist bioassays. In these studies, Drosophila melanogaster (Meigen) was used as a model for other medically important dipterans. In addition to a susceptible strain (Canton-S), three mutant strains were tested that included a strain resistant by P450-based metabolism (Hikone-R) and two resistant neurological mutant strains; one voltage-gated sodium channel mutant (para(ts-1)) and one GABA-gated chloride channel mutant (Rdl). In general, the 11 tested insecticides displayed a diversity of toxicity, metabolism, and resistance characteristics that correlate with their structural diversity. Several important trends were revealed by these studies, including hydrolase- and cytochrome P450 (P450)-based activation, P450-based resistance, distinct patterns of neurological activity, and negative cross-resistance with established insecticides. These findings provide important insight into the metabolism and modes of action for the volatile insecticides. These findings also suggest potential approaches for insecticide deployment in integrated vector management and resistance management programs.     

Synergistic efficacy of botanical blends with and without synthetic insecticides against Aedes aegypti and Culex annulirostris mosquitoes.

Increasing insecticide resistance requires strategies to prolong the use of highly effective vector control compounds. The use of combinations of insecticides with other insecticides and phytochemicals is one such strategy that is suitable for mosquito control. In bioassays with Aedes aegypti and Culex annulirostris mosquitoes, binary mixtures of phytochemicals with or without synthetic insecticides produced promising results when each was applied at a LC25 dose. All mixtures resulted in 100% mortality against Cx. annulirostris larvae within 24 h rather than the expected mortality of 50%. All mixtures acted synergistically against Ae. aegypti larvae within the first 24 h except for one mixture that showed an additive effect. We conclude that mixtures are more effective than insecticides or phytochemicals alone and that they enable a reduced dose to be applied for vector control potentially leading to improved resistance management and reduced costs.     

Furanocoumarin metabolism in Papilio polyxenes: biochemistry,genetic variability,and ecological significance

The ubiquitous occurrence of series of biosynthetically related plant secondary compounds within individual species has given rise to the suggestion that such multiplicity is adaptive; one possible mechanism that would serve to maintain such within-plant diversity is analog synergism. In a series of experiments, we provide evidence that synergism may account for the presence of multiple structurally related furanocoumarins in apiaceous plants. The black swallowtail, Papilio polyxenes, feeds exclusively on plant species containing furanocoumarins. Growth of larvae fed parsley leaves treated with both xanthotoxin and angelicin, two furanocoumarins that co-occur widely in swallowtail hostplants, was significantly slower than that of larvae fed leaves with an equimolar concentration of either xanthotoxin or angelicin. A multivariate combination of growth, food consumption and frass excretion differed significantly between larvae fed leaves treated with both xanthotoxin and angelicin and larvae fed leaves treated with angelicin alone. In addition, we measured rates of in vitro cytochrome P450-mediated metabolism of three furanocoumarins — bergapten, xanthotoxin, and angelicin. While bergapten and xanthotoxin, both linear furanocoumarins, were metabolized at similar rates (8.07 and 9.86 nmoles/min/g fw caterpillar, respectively), angelicin, an angular furanocoumarin, was metabolized more slowly (2.76 nmoles/min/g fw caterpillar). When all three furanocoumarins were assayed together, overall rates of metabolism were significantly reduced, suggesting substrate inhibition. Thus, the pattern of growth of larvae is consistent with the pattern of in vitro metabolism and is evidence in support of analog synergism. In a separate experiment, metabolism of xanthotoxin and angelicin individually and together were compared in six maternal families. Again, angelicin was metabolized more slowly than xanthotoxin and each furanocoumarin inhibited metabolism of the other. That significant family effects were found for rates of metabolism and for the ratio of moles of angelicin metabolized for each mole of xanthotoxin metabolized raises the possibility that genetic variation exists for the rate and specificity of metabolism and suggests that insect herbivores may be able to adapt to analog synergism.     

昆虫抗药性机理：行为和生理改变及解毒代谢增强（英文）

杀虫剂抗性是指“生物的一个品系发展了对该生物正常种群中大多数个体具有致死作用剂量的杀虫药剂的能力”。行为改变、生理学上的变化或代谢解毒等抗性机制能够降低毒物到达靶标的有效剂量。行为抗性是指减少昆虫与毒物接触或使昆虫能够存活于对大多数对正常个体致死（或有害）的环境中的任何行为。生理学改变的机制包括杀虫剂对表皮的穿透性降低、增加对药剂阻隔（sequestration）或储存和加速杀虫剂的排泄。细胞色素P450、水解酶和谷胱甘肽S-转移酶是杀虫药剂代谢解毒的主要3大酶系。细胞色素P450是一个超基因家族,是生物体内对外源性和内源性化合物解毒代谢或活化最重要的酶系。在许多害虫中发现P450介导的解毒代谢增加导致了对杀虫药剂抗性的增加。谷胱甘肽S-转移酶是可溶性的 二聚体蛋白,与代谢解毒、大量内源性和外源性化合物的排泄有关,许多昆虫中证明其抗药性与该酶活性增加有关。水解酶实际上是一组异源的酶类,其对抗药性的作用包括通过基因扩增增加酶量,作为结合蛋白隔离杀虫药剂或通过增加酶的活性加强对药剂的水解作用。     

Cross-induction of detoxification genes by environmental xenobiotics and insecticides in the mosquito Aedes aegypti: impact on larval tolerance to chemical insecticides

The effect of exposure of Aedes aegypti larvae to sub-lethal doses of the pyrethroid insecticide permethrin, the organophosphate temephos, the herbicide atrazine, the polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon fluoranthene and the heavy metal copper on their subsequent tolerance to insecticides, detoxification enzyme activities and expression of detoxification genes was investigated. Bioassays revealed a moderate increase in larval tolerance to permethrin following exposure to fluoranthene and copper while larval tolerance to temephos increased moderately after exposure to atrazine, copper and permethrin. Cytochrome P450 monooxygenases activities were induced in larvae exposed to permethrin, fluoranthene and copper while glutathione S-transferase activities were induced after exposure to fluoranthene and repressed after exposure to copper. Microarray screening of the expression patterns of all detoxification genes following exposure to each xenobiotic with the Aedes Detox Chip identified multiple genes induced by xenobiotics and insecticides. Further expression studies using real-time quantitative PCR confirmed the induction of multiple CYP genes and one carboxylesterase gene by insecticides and xenobiotics. Overall, this study reveals the potential of xenobiotics found in polluted mosquito breeding sites to affect their tolerance to insecticides, possibly through the cross-induction of particular detoxification genes. Molecular mechanisms involved and impact on mosquito control strategies are discussed.     

Insecticide resistance and cross-resistance in the house fly (Diptera: Muscidae)

A house fly strain, ALHF, was collected from a poultry farm in Alabama after a control failure with permethrin, and further selected in the laboratory with permethrin for five generations. The level of resistance to permethrin in ALHF was increased rapidly from an initial 260-fold to 1,800-fold after selection. Incomplete suppression of permethrin resistance by piperonyl butoxide (PBO) and S,S,S,-tributylphosphorotrithioate (DEF) reveals that P450 monooxygenase- and hydrolase-mediated detoxication, and one or more additional mechanisms are involved in resistance to permethrin. The ALHF strain showed a great ability to develop resistance or cross-resistance to different insecticides within and outside the pyrethroid group including some relatively new insecticides. Resistance to beta-cypermethrin, cypermethrin, deltamethrin, and propoxur (2,400-4,200-, 10,000-, and > 290-fold, respectively, compared with a susceptible strain, aabys) in ALHF house flies was partially or mostly suppressed by PBO and DEF, indicating that P450 monooxygenases and hydrolases are involved in resistance to these insecticides. Partial reduction in resistance with PBO and DEF implies that multiresistance mechanisms are responsible for resistance. Fifteen- and more than fourfold resistance and cross-resistance to chlorpyrifos and imidacloprid, respectively, were not effected by PBO or DEF, indicating that P450 monooxygenases and hydrolases are not involved in resistance to these two insecticides. Forty-nine-fold cross-resistance to fipronil was mostly suppressed by PBO and DEF, revealing that monooxygenases are a major mechanism of cross-resistance to fipronil. Multiresistance mechanisms in the ALHF house fly strain, however, do not confer cross-resistance to spinosad, a novel insecticide derived from the bacterium Saccharopolyspora spinosa. Thus, we propose that spinosad be used as a potential insecticide against house fly pests, especially resistant flies.     

细胞色素P450介导的果蝇抗药性研究进展

细胞色素P450 (cytochrome P450, CYP450)超基因家族是由一些数量多而功能复杂的血红蛋白酶基因所组成,该代谢酶系作为一种几乎地球上所有需氧生物都存在的重要生存策略,可以调控多种内源物质及外源化合物的代谢,参与了众多重要的生命过程,代谢解毒作用是该酶系重要功能之一。细胞色素P450的代谢解毒作用受药物影响,机体通过改变基因表达量,实现增强代谢解毒,加快机体对于有害物质的代谢,从而使得机体对有害环境产生一定的适应性,进而使得机体产生耐药性或抗药性。本研究说明果蝇细胞色素P450介导的杀虫剂类药物代谢机制及代谢抗性的特点等方面的研究,对明确果蝇的抗药性机制研究具有参考意义。     

Adult specific expression and induction of cytochrome P450tpr in house flies

Cytochrome P450_tpr is a xenobiotic metabolizing P450 that is found in house flies (Musca domestica). To better understand the regulation of cytochrome P450_tpr, the effects of 21 potential monooxygenase inducers were examined for their ability to induce total cytochromes P450 and cytochrome P450_tpr levels in adult flies. Six compounds caused induction of total cytochromes P450 per mg protein in adult susceptible (CS) house flies: ethanol (1.6-fold), phenobarbital in food (1.5-fold) or water (1.5-fold), naphthalene (1.3-fold), DDT (1.3-fold), xanthotoxin (1.4-fold), and α-pinene (1.2-fold). Six compounds were found to be inducers of cytochrome P450_tpr: piperonyl butoxide in food (1.9-fold), phenobarbital in food (1.4-fold) and water (3.4-fold), clofibrate (1.3-fold), xanthotoxin (1.3-fold), methohexital (1.3-fold), and isosafrole (1.3-fold). Comparison of our results with house fly P450 6A1 indicates that there are specific inducers for each of these individual P450s as well as compounds that induce both P450s. Total P450s were inducible by PB in CS house fly larvae, but not in LPR larvae. Immunoblotting revealed no detectable P450_tpr in control or PB-treated larvae in either strain. Thus, although total P450s are inducible in the susceptible strain larvae, P450_tpr does not appear to be normally present or inducible with PB in larvae of either strain. Northern blots of phenobarbital (in water) treated CS flies indicated that there was a 4.2-fold increase in the P450_tpr (i.e., CYP6D1) mRNA levels over the untreated flies. In the multiresistant LPR strain there was no apparent induction of CYP6D1 mRNA by phenobarbital. Following phenobarbital induction, the level of CYP6D1 mRNA in the CS strain was about half of the level in the LPR strain. © 1996 Wiley-Liss, Inc.     

Induction of microsomal cytochrome P450s by tire-leachate compounds, habitat components of Aedes albopictus mosquito larvae

Benzothiazole (BZT) and its derivatives are the major leachate compounds of automobile tires, the principal breeding habitat of Aedes albopictus, particularly in the United States. Effects of the compounds on insecticide toxicity, and activities and expression of microsomal cytochrome P450s (P450s) in the mosquito larvae were examined. Mosquito larvae were more tolerant to carbaryl, rotenone, and temephos when they were pre-exposed to tire-leachate compounds, particularly BZT. There was no change in toxicity from the aldrin treatment by BZT. The effect of BZT was reversed when a P450 inhibitor, piperonyl butoxide, was applied in admixture with the insecticides. Microsomes from BZT-treated larvae had increased peroxidation activity of tetramethylbenzidine. This correlated with increased intensity of SDS-PAGE protein bands corresponding to molecular weights of 59 and 62 kD, which were detected as heme-containing proteins, a characteristic of P450s. The results suggest that BZT induces P450s, which detoxify insecticides and thus cause insecticide tolerance in the mosquito larvae. Arch.     

Exposure to herbicides reduces larval sensitivity to insecticides in Spodoptera litura (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae)

Herbicides and insecticides are widely used in modern agriculture. It has been reported in various studies that application of insecticides can increase tolerance of herbivorous insects to insecticides. However, limited information exists on susceptibility to insecticides when insects are exposed to herbicides. This study was conducted to investigate the potential impact of the herbicides trifluralin and 2-methyl-4-chlorophenoxyacetic acid sodium salt (MCPA-Na) on the susceptibility of the nocturnal moth Spodoptera litura to the insecticides X-cyhalothrin, phoxim and bifenthrin. We found that larvae exposed to trifluralin or MCPA-Na became significantly less susceptible to both insecticides than nonexposed control larvae. Herbicide-treated larvae did not show altered growth under the used test conditions. However, heads of herbicide-treated larvae showed increased expression of the acetylcholinesterase genes SI Ace I and SI Ace 2. Moreover, the fat body and midgut of herbicide-treated larvae displayed elevated expression of detoxification genes (the carboxylesterase gene SI CarE;the glutathione S-transferase genes SlGSTe2 and SlGSTe3\ the cytochrome P450 monooxygenase genes CYP6B48, CYP9A40 and CYP321B1). The CYP6B48 gene exhibited highest inducibility. In conclusion, the data of this study suggest that exposure of S. litura larvae to herbicides may stimulate detoxification mechanisms that compromise the efficacy of insecticides.     

A comparison of Drosophila melanogaster detoxification gene induction responses for six insecticides, caffeine and phenobarbital

Modifications of metabolic pathways are important in insecticide resistance evolution. Mutations leading to changes in expression levels or substrate specificities of cytochrome P450 (P450), glutathione-S-transferase (GST) and esterase genes have been linked to many cases of resistance with the responsible enzyme shown to utilize the insecticide as a substrate. Many studies show that the substrates of enzymes are capable of inducing the expression of those enzymes. We investigated if this was the case for insecticides and the enzymes responsible for their metabolism. The induction responses for P450s, GSTs and esterases to six different insecticides were investigated using a custom designed microarray in Drosophila melanogaster. Even though these gene families can all contribute to insecticide resistance, their induction responses when exposed to insecticides are minimal. The insecticides spinosad, diazinon, nitenpyram, lufenuron and dicyclanil did not induce any P450, GST or esterase gene expression after a short exposure to high lethal concentrations of insecticide. DDT elicited the low-level induction of one GST and one P450. These results are in contrast to induction responses we observed for the natural plant compound caffeine and the barbituate drug phenobarbital, both of which highly induced a number of P450 and GST genes under the same short exposure regime. Our results indicate that, under the insecticide exposure conditions we used, constitutive over-expression of metabolic genes play more of a role in insect survival than induction of members of these gene families.