Lepidopteran HMG-CoA reductase is a potential selective target for pest control

PeerJ

article

Yuan-mei Li¹  Zhen-peng Kai¹  Juan Huang²  Stephen S. Tobe² 

[1] School of Chemical and Environmental Engineering, Shanghai Institute of Technology;Department of Cell and Systems Biology, University of Toronto

关键词: HMG-CoA reductase;    Sequence alignment;    Structural comparison;    Selective insecticide target;    Statins;   

DOI  :  10.7717/peerj.2881

学科分类：社会科学、人文和艺术（综合）

来源: Inra

【 摘 要 】

As a consequence of the negative impacts on the environment of some insecticides, discovery of eco-friendly insecticides and target has received global attention in recent years. Sequence alignment and structural comparison of the rate-limiting enzyme HMG-CoA reductase (HMGR) revealed differences between lepidopteran pests and other organisms, which suggested insect HMGR could be a selective insecticide target candidate. Inhibition of JH biosynthesis in vitro confirmed that HMGR inhibitors showed a potent lethal effect on the lepidopteran pest Manduca sexta, whereas there was little effect on JH biosynthesis in Apis mellifera and Diploptera punctata. The pest control application of these inhibitors demonstrated that they can be insecticide candidates with potent ovicidal activity, larvicidal activity and insect growth regulatory effects. The present study has validated that Lepidopteran HMGR can be a potent selective insecticide target, and the HMGR inhibitors (especially type II statins) could be selective insecticide candidates and lead compounds. Furthermore, we demonstrated that sequence alignment, homology modeling and structural comparison may be useful for determining potential enzymes or receptors which can be eco-friendly pesticide  targets.

【 授权许可】

CC BY