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Effects of azadirachtin on detoxification-related gene expression in the fat bodies of the fall armyworm, Spodoptera frugiperda

  • Recent Trends on Sustainable Agriculture through Environmental Friendly Pesticides: An Ecological Conservation Approach
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Abstract

The fall armyworm, Spodoptera frugiperda, has become a worldwide pest and threatens world food production. A previous study indicated that azadirachtin, the most effective botanical insecticide for S. frugiperda, inhibits larval growth of the insect. The effect of azadirachtin on the tissues of the larvae, however, remains to be determined. In this study, the effects of azadirachtin on the structure of fat bodies were analyzed. Comparative transcriptomic analysis was conducted between controls and samples treated with 0.1 μg/g azadirachtin for 7 days to explore potential relevant mechanisms. The expression of 5356 genes was significantly affected after azadirachtin treatment, with 3020 up-regulated and 2336 down-regulated. Among them, 137 encode detoxification enzymes, including 53 P450s, 20 GSTs, 27 CarEs, 16 UGTs, and 12 ABC transporters. Our results indicated that azadirachtin could destroy fat body structure and change the mRNA levels of detoxification-related genes. The up-regulated genes encoding detoxification enzymes might be related to detoxifying azadirachtin. Our results elucidate a preliminary mechanism of azadirachtin detoxification in the fat bodies of S. frugiperda larvae.

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Data availability

The raw reads of transcriptomes in this study have been deposited in the NCBI SRA database with the accession number from PRJNA686499.

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Acknowledgements

The authors sincerely thank Prof. Ming-Shun Chen of Kansas State University for revising this manuscript.

Funding

This work was financially supported by the fund from Key-Area Research and Development Program of Guangdong Province (no. 2020B020223004), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (grant no. 32102221), the Innovation Team Project in Guangdong Provincial Department of Education (2017KCXTD018), and Guangzhou Science and Technology Plan Projects (grants 201803020009 and 201903010043).

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  1. Haikuo Yu, and Xianmei Yang contributed equally to this work.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Guangzhou City Key Laboratory of Subtropical Fruit Trees Outbreak Control, Zhongkai University of Agriculture and Engineering, Guangzhou, China

    Haikuo Yu, Xianmei Yang, Jinghua Dai, Yuning Li, Jintian Lin & Benshui Shu

  2. Department of Biotechnology, Periyar University, Salem, Tamil Nadu, India

    Sethuraman Veeran

  3. Guangzhou City Key Laboratory of Subtropical Fruit Trees Outbreak Control, Institute for Management of Invasive Alien Species, Zhongkai University of Agriculture and Engineering, 313 Yingdong teaching building, Guangzhou, 510225, People’s Republic of China

    Benshui Shu

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  1. Haikuo Yu
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HY, XY, JD, and BS performed the experiments, and YL and SV helped with the data analysis. BS drafted the manuscript. BS and JL conceived of the study, participated in its design and coordination, and helped to revise the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

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Correspondence to Benshui Shu.

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Yu, H., Yang, X., Dai, J. et al. Effects of azadirachtin on detoxification-related gene expression in the fat bodies of the fall armyworm, Spodoptera frugiperda. Environ Sci Pollut Res 30, 42587–42595 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-022-19661-6

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