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A novel point mutation of acetylcholinesterase in a trichlorfon-resistant strain of the oriental fruit fly Bactrocera dorsalis (Diptera: Tephritidae)

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Abstract

Acetylcholinesterase (AChE) is the target enzyme of organophosphorus and carbamate insecticides. We applied trichlorfon to select resistant strains of Bactrocera dorsalis Hendel in the laboratory. Two trichlorfon-resistant strains, the Tri-R1 strain with 18.23-fold resistance and the Tri-R2 strain with 69.5-fold resistance, were obtained. Three known mutations, I159V, G433S and Q588R were identified in AChE of two resistant strains, and a novel mutation, G365A, was identified in the more resistant Tri-R2 strain. The modeled 3-D-structure of AChE showed that G365A and G433S are closely adjacent in the gorge above the catalytic site S235. Mutations of G365A and G433S resulted in a steric hindrance by stronger Van der Waals force between two sites. Such a minor structural change might block insecticides from squeezing through the gorge to reach the active site, but not the natural substrate. Compared with the susceptible strain, the AChE activity of the Tri-R1 strain and the Tri-R2 strain was 0.87- and 0.67-fold, the K m value of the Tri-R1 strain and the Tri-R2 strain was 0.11- and 0.10-fold, the V max value of two resistant strains was 0.26- and 0.15-fold, whereas, the I 50 to trichlorfon significantly increased by 9.07- and 13.19-fold. These results suggested that the novel point mutation G365A of AChE might be involved in increasing resistance to trichlorfon in the resistant strain of oriental fruit fly.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by the Research Project of National Public Service in Agriculture (200903047). We appreciate two anonymous reviewers’ crucial suggestions and detailed comments for improving the quality of the manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Entomology, College of Natural Resources and Environment, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, 510642, China

    Jian-jun Jiang, Guang-wen Liang, Ling Zeng & Shuo-yang Wen

  2. Hefei National Laboratory for Physical Sciences at the Microscale, School of Life Sciences, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, 230026, Anhui, China

    Kang Zhou

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  1. Jian-jun Jiang
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  2. Kang Zhou
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  3. Guang-wen Liang
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  4. Ling Zeng
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Correspondence to Ling Zeng or Shuo-yang Wen.

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Jiang, Jj., Zhou, K., Liang, Gw. et al. A novel point mutation of acetylcholinesterase in a trichlorfon-resistant strain of the oriental fruit fly Bactrocera dorsalis (Diptera: Tephritidae). Appl Entomol Zool 49, 129–137 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13355-013-0232-0

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