Investigation of Changes in Expression Levels of Detoxification Genes and Mortality in Pieris brassicae Larvae Exposed to Nepeta meyeri

• Published in: Biology bulletin of the Russian Academy of Sciences 2023-10, Vol.50 (5), p.784-789
• Main Authors: Gozde Busra Eroglu, Bakirdogen, Merve Almula, Yazicilar, Busra, Atici, Okkeş
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Biochemistry; Biomedical and Life Sciences; Cell Biology; Chemical pest control; Cytochrome P450; Detoxification; Ecology; Genetics; Glucuronosyltransferase; Larvae; Life Sciences; Mortality; Nepeta; Pieris brassicae; Plant extracts; UDP-glucuronosyltransferase; Zoology
• ISSN: 1062-3590; 1608-3059
• DOI: 10.1134/S1062359023601477

The plant extracts have been researched for the last thirty years to improve alternatives to chemical pesticides and to determine their insecticidal effects. It is also known that plant-based biopesticides are generally more specific and innocuous to other organisms. To date, it has been determined that many plant extracts have biocidal properties. However, research on the discovery of new plant extracts with better biocidal properties continues with great excitement. In this study, the biocidal effects of Nepeta meyeri on the larvae of the large cabbage white, Pieris brassicae (Lepidoptera: Pieridae), an important agricultural pest, were investigated. Three several doses (0.75, 1, and 1.25 mg/mL) of N. meyeri extract were given to the third instar larvae using the droplet feeding method. The larvae were taken to the living environment in the climate cabinet (26°C, 65% humidity, 16 : 8 light : dark) and the mortality rates of the larvae were recorded. Mortality rates of larvae at 60 hours for 0.75, 1, and 1.25 mg/mL doses of the plant extract were 72, 77, and 92%, respectively. Also, expression changes in detoxification genes (cytochrome p450 and UDP-Glucuronosyltransferase) of randomly selected live larvae at 0, 12, 24, 36, 48, and 60 hours were detected by qRT-PCR. In this study, as a result of feeding the larvae with the highest dose of 1.25 mg/mL N. meyeri extract, the level of increase in the detoxification genes p450 and udp genes was at the highest level at the 12 hour. The results demonstrate that N. meyeri extract (1.25 mg/mL) was determined to be a promising botanical extract for the control of P. brassicae larvae.