Effects of fragrance compounds on growth of the silkworm .

Due to the contamination and biological toxicity of some fragrance compounds, the environmental and ecological problems of such compounds have attracted more and more attention. However, studies of the toxicity of fragrance compounds for insects have been limited. The toxicity of 48 fragrance compounds for the silkworm were investigated in this study.

Enzymes in the juvenile hormone biosynthetic pathway can be potential targets for pest control.

Background: Discovery of novel insecticides and targets has received global attention in recent years. Ten genes coding for enzymes involved in the juvenile hormone biosynthetic pathway of Manduca sexta were studied as potential insecticide targets.

Results: We determined the expression of genes encoding some critical enzymes in the JH biosynthetic pathway.