Intestinal proteases profiling from Anticarsia gemmatalis and their binding to inhibitors.

Although the importance of intestinal hydrolases is recognized, there is little information on the intestinal proteome of lepidopterans such as Anticarsia gemmatalis. Thus, we carried out the proteomic analysis of the A. gemmatalis intestine to characterize the proteases by LC/MS.

Inhibition kinetics of digestive proteases for Anticarsia gemmatalis.

Anticarsia gemmatalis Hübner, 1818 (Lepidoptera) is a major pest of soybean in the Brazil. It is known that the reduction of proteolytic activity by the ingestion of protease inhibitors reduces digestion and larval development of the insects. Control via inhibition of the digestive enzymes necessitates deeper knowledge of the enzyme kinetics and the characterization of the inhibition kinetics of these proteases, for better understanding of the active centers and action mechanisms of this enzyme.

Protease inhibitory, insecticidal and deterrent effects of the trypsin-inhibitor benzamidine on the velvetbean caterpillar in soybean.

The recognition of protease inhibitors with insecticidal activity is important as a basis for the development of mimetic peptides with potential use as biorational insecticides. We sprayed benzamidine on soybean plants and assessed whether this potent synthetic trypsin-inhibitor has protease inhibitory, insecticidal and deterrent effects on the velvetbean caterpillar Anticarsia gemmatalis Hübner (Lepidoptera: Erebidae). Activity of trypsin inhibition in soybean leaves was increased and total proteolytic activity in the midgut extract from larvae fed on these leaves was reduced by benzamidine.

Bottom-Up Mechanisms Generate the Same Temporal Pattern of Attack by a Specialist and a Generalist Caterpillar on Short-Lived Plants.

The local population dynamics of insect herbivores in ephemeral patches of short-lived plants are poorly known. We investigated whether a specialist and a generalist caterpillar exhibit contrasting temporal patterns of attack during plant development and also assessed bottom-up forces related to plant ontogeny that govern such population trends. Immature stages of the polyphagous Trichoplusia ni (Hübner) and the oligophagous Plutella xylostella (L.

Does cypermethrin affect enzyme activity, respiration rate and walking behavior of the maize weevil (Sitophilus zeamais)?

Insecticides cause a range of sub-lethal effects on targeted insects, which are frequently detrimental to them. However, targeted insects are able to cope with insecticides within sub-lethal ranges, which vary with their susceptibility. Here we assessed the response of three strains of the maize weevil Sitophilus zeamais Motschulsky (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) to sub-lethal exposure to the pyrethoid insecticide cypermethrin.

Biochemical responses of Anticarsia gemmatalis (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) in soybean cultivars sprayed with the protease inhibitor berenil.

The damage caused by Anticarsia gemmatalis motivates this study on the adaptive mechanisms of the insect to soybean. The lipoxygenase pathway produces and releases jasmonic acid, involved in the regulation of the plant defense genes, which encodes protease inhibitor (PI) production. Three soybean cultivars IAC-18, IAC-24, and Foscarin-31 were sprayed with water and berenil, a synthetic inhibitor, at 0.