Abstract

Spinosad is a widely used insecticide effective in controlling Aedes aegypti populations, but the molecular mechanisms underlying resistance remain poorly understood. This study explores the role of a serine protease, AeaSP (AAEL002624), in the potential detoxification ability of spinosad. Our results showed the crude protein of Ae. aegypti degraded approximately 48% of spinosad in vitro within 1 h; based on our previous research, AeaSP was believed to be potentially involved in the degradation of spinosad. Subsequently, AeaSP was recombinantly expressed in vitro, and its enzymatic activity was tested using BAEE as a substrate, with a Michaelis constant (KM) of 0.88 mmol/L. Spatiotemporal expression profiles revealed that AeaSP expression peaked in third instar larvae and thoraxes. In vitro assays showed that AeaSP degraded approximately 63% of spinosad (500 ng/mL) within 6 h. RNAi knockdown of AeaSP significantly increased larval mortality under spinosad exposure and raised spinosad residue levels in larvae by 37% under 0.15 μg/mL spinosad. Our findings suggest AeaSP may play a critical role in detoxifying spinosad in Ae. aegypti and serve as a target for improving spinosad efficacy and mosquito control strategies.

Department(s)

Chemistry

Publication Status

Full Access

Comments

Major Science and Technology Project of Hainan Province, Grant ZDKJ2021035

Keywords and Phrases

detoxifying enzymes; mosquito, Aedes aegypti; serine proteases; spinosad

International Standard Serial Number (ISSN)

1365-2583; 0962-1075

Document Type

Article - Journal

Document Version

Citation

File Type

text

Language(s)

English

Rights

© 2025 Wiley; Royal Entomological Society, All rights reserved.

Publication Date

01 Jan 2025

Download

Full Text Link

Included in

Biochemistry Commons

Share

 
COinS