Melanization, an important insect defense mechanism, is mediated by clip-domain serine protease (cSP) cascades and is regulated by serpins. Here we show that proteolytic activation of prophenoloxidase (PPO) and PO-catalyzed melanization kill the baculovirus in vitro. Our quantitative proteomics and biochemical experiments revealed that baculovirus infection of the cotton bollworm, Helicoverpa a...

ordinary antennal lobe glomeruli in the central olfactory pathway of the moth Heliothis virescens

The Israeli population of the cotton bollworm, Helicoverpa armigera (Hübner), undergoes a short-day, low-temperature pupal diapause and is also suspected of being a seasonal migrant in the eastern Mediterranean region. H. armigera were reared in the laboratory under several constant temperature and photoperiodic combinations which simulate average conditions encountered in the spring, summer, e...

RNA interference (RNAi) caused by exogenous double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) has developed into a powerful technique in functional genomics, and to date it is widely used to down-regulate crucial physiology-related genes to control pest insects. A molt-regulating transcription factor gene, HaHR3, of cotton bollworm (Helicoverpa armigera) was selected as the target gene. Four different fragments cove...

Transgenic cotton that has been engineered to produce insecticidal toxins from Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) and so to resist the pest cotton bollworm (Helicoverpa armigera) has been widely planted in Asia. Analysis of the population dynamics of H. armigera from 1992 to 2007 in China indicated that a marked decrease in regional outbreaks of this pest in multiple crops was associated with the plan...

We deployed >50,000 Helicoverpa armigera eggs in maize fields to assess the rate of parasitism by Trichogramma chilonis across 33 sites during a three-year span (2012-2014) in northern China. Subsequently, we used a partial least squares (PLS) regression approach to assess the relationship of landscape diversity with composition and parasitism potential. The parasitism rate of H. armigera eggs ...

The demographic characteristics of Helicoverpa armigera (Hübner) reared on hybrid sweet corn (Zea mays L. variety saccharata) (hybrid super sweet corn KY bright jean) and on an artificial diet were compared by using the age-stage, two-sex life table. Because the hatch rate of eggs varies with maternal age, age-specific fecundity was calculated based on the numbers of hatched eggs to reveal the ...

Proteinase inhibitors (PIs) are natural defense proteins of plants found to be active against gut proteases of various insects. A pigeonpea wild relative Cajanus platycarpus was identified as a source of resistance against Helicoverpa armigera, a most devastating pest of several crops including pigeonpea. In the light of earlier studies, trypsin-specific PIs (CpPI 63) were purified from mature ...

Plants are prone to various biotic stresses in nature by bacteria, viruses, fungi, parasites, harmful insects and weeds. The biggest percentage loss (70%) in plants is attributed to insects. Lepidoptera is one such diversified phytophagous insect group, which include Helicoverpa armigera, a key pest of many food crops including chickpea, pigeonpea, pea, lentil, chillies, sunflower, tomato, toba...

BACKGROUND Evolution of resistance threatens the continued success of transgenic crops expressing insecticidal proteins. One of the key factors for successful resistance management is the timely implementation of monitoring programmes to detect early changes of resistance allele frequency in field populations. F(1)/F(2) screen, dose-response bioassays and field survey were used to monitor resis...