Comparison of two acetylcholinesterase gene cDNAs of the lesser mealworm, Alphitobius diaperinus, in insecticide susceptible and resistant strains

Two cDNAs encoding different acetylcholinesterase (AChE) genes (AdAce1 and AdAce2) were sequenced and analyzed from the lesser mealworm, Alphitobius diaperinus. Both AdAce1 and AdAce2 were highly similar (95 and 93% amino acid identity, respectively) with the Ace genes of Tribolium castaneum. Both AdAce1 and AdAce2 have the conserved residues characteristic of AChE (catalytic triad, intra-disulfide bonds, and so on). Partial cDNA sequences of the Alphitobius Ace genes were compared between two tetrachlorvinphos resistant (Kennebec and Waycross) and one susceptible strain of beetles. Several single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were detected, but only one non-synonymous mutation was found (A271S in AdAce2). No SNPs were exclusively found in the resistant strains, the A271S mutation does not correspond to any mutations previously reported to alter sensitivity of AChE to organophosphates or carbamates, and the A271S was found only as a heterozygote in one individual from one of the resistant A. diaperinus strains. This suggests that tetrachlorvinphos resistance in the Kennebec and Waycross strains of A. diaperinus is not due to mutations in either AChE gene. The sequences of AdAce1 and AdAce2 provide new information about the evolution of these important genes in insects.