Potential Acetylcholinesterase Inhibitor Acting on the Pesticide Resistant and Susceptible Cotton Pests.

Gossypium spp., produces economically important cotton fiber, and its yield is highly affected due to pest attacks. Insecticidal target site mutation is one of the reasons behind insecticide resistance to a wide range of pesticides.

Screening of broad spectrum natural pesticides against conserved target arginine kinase in cotton pests by molecular modeling.

Cotton is an economically important crop and its production is challenged by the diversity of pests and related insecticide resistance. Identification of the conserved target across the cotton pest will help to design broad spectrum insecticide. In this study, we have identified conserved sequences by Expressed Sequence Tag profiling from three cotton pests namely Aphis gossypii, Helicoverpa armigera, and Spodoptera exigua.

Isolation, characterization and molecular three-dimensional structural predictions of metalloprotease from a phytopathogenic fungus, Alternaria solani (Ell. and Mart.) Sor.

The present study aims at isolation, identification, characterization and prediction of three-dimensional molecular architecture of a proteolytic enzyme from the early blight pathogen, Alternaria solani which are hypothesized to be a marker of phytopathogenicity. Maximum enzyme production by A. solani was observed in Czapex's Dox broth amended with 2% (w/v) casein than other inducer amendments.

Cloning, expression analysis, and RNA interference study of a HORMA domain containing autophagy-related gene 13 (ATG13) from the coleopteran beetle, Tenebrio molitor.

Autophagy is a process that is necessary during starvation, as it replenishes metabolic precursors by eliminating damaged organelles. Autophagy is mediated by more than 35 autophagy-related (Atg) proteins that participate in the nucleation, elongation, and curving of the autophagosome membrane. In a pursuit to address the role of autophagy during development and immune resistance of the mealworm beetle, Tenebrio molitor, we screened ATG gene sequences from the whole-larva transcriptome database.

Armet is an effector protein mediating aphid-plant interactions.

Aphid saliva is predicted to contain proteins that modulate plant defenses and facilitate feeding. Armet is a well-characterized bifunctional protein in mammalian systems. Here we report a new role of Armet, namely as an effector protein in the pea aphid, Acyrthosiphon pisum.

Expression of α-subunit of α-glucosidase II in adult mouse brain regions and selected organs.

α-Glucosidase II (GII), a resident of endoplasmic reticulum (ER) and an important enzyme in the folding of nascent glycoproteins, is heterodimeric, consisting of α (GIIα) and β (GIIβ) subunits. The catalytic GIIα subunit, with the help of mannose 6-phosphate receptor homology domain of GIIβ, sequentially hydrolyzes two α1-3-linked glucose residues in the second step of N-linked oligosaccharide-mediated protein folding. The soluble GIIα subunit is retained in the ER through its interaction with the HDEL-containing GIIβ subunit.

Serine protease identification (in vitro) and molecular structure predictions (in silico) from a phytopathogenic fungus, Alternaria solani.

Serine proteases are involved in an enormous number of biological processes. The present study aims at characterizing three-dimensional (3D) molecular architecture of serine proteases from early blight pathogen, Alternaria solani that are hypothesized to be markers of phytopathogenicity. A serine protease was purified to homogeneity and MALDI-TOF-MS/MS analysis revealed that protease produced by A.

Alcohol and NMDA receptor: current research and future direction.

The brain is one of the major targets of alcohol actions. Most of the excitatory synaptic transmission in the central nervous system is mediated by N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptors. However, one of the most devastating effects of alcohol leads to brain shrinkage, loss of nerve cells at specific regions through a mechanism involving excitotoxicity, oxidative stress.

Identification of nuclear receptors involved in regulation of male reproduction in the red flour beetle, Tribolium castaneum.

Nineteen canonical and two Knirps-like family nuclear receptors (NRs) were identified in the genome of Tribolium castaneum. The current study was conducted to identify NRs involved in regulation of male reproduction. RNA interference (RNAi)-aided knockdown in the expression of genes coding for all 21 NRs showed that reduction in the levels of 11 NRs (E75, E78, FTZ-F1, HR38, HR4, Knirps-like, HNF4, Tailless, HR51, Dsf and HR39) in the male beetles caused more than 50% reduction in the eggs laid by the female beetles mated with RNAi male beetles.

Expression and localization of storage protein 1 (SP1) in differentiated fat body tissues of red hairy caterpillar, Amsacta albistriga Walker.

The accumulation and utilization of storage proteins are prominent events linked to the metamorphosis of holometabolous insects. The female-specific storage protein 1 (SP1) is the major storage protein found in the hemolymph and fat body of female larvae of the groundnut pest, Amsacta albistriga. Here we show SP1 expression and localization in differentiated fat body tissues using biochemical and immunohistochemistry scrutiny.