Most previous studies have focused on analgesic and anti-cancer activities for the conotoxins identified from piscivorous and molluscivorous cone snails, but little attention has been devoted to insecticidal activity of conotoxins from the dominant vermivorous species. As a representative vermivorous cone snail, the Chinese tubular cone snail (Conus betulinus) is the dominant Conus species inha...

The use of chemical pesticides revolutionized agriculture with the introduction of DDT (Dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane) as the first modern chemical insecticide. However, the effectiveness of DDT and other synthetic pesticides, together with their low cost and ease of use, have led to the generation of undesirable side effects, such as pollution of water and food sources, harm to non-target or...

Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) is a valuable environmentfriendly biopesticide, which occupies 90% of the world biopesticide market. Its insecticidal properties are attributed to the presence of δ-endotoxins which are synthesized during the sporulation phase of the bacterium. δ-endotoxin or crystal toxin is a multidomain protein molecule comprising of three distinct domains. Domain I is made of sev...

Insect pests have developed resistance to chemical insecticides, insecticidal toxins as bioinsecticides or genetic protection built into crops. Consequently, novel, orally active insecticidal toxins would be valuable biological alternatives for pest control. Here, we identified a novel insecticidal toxin, parasporal crystal toxin (PC), from Bacillus bombysepticus (Bb). PC shows oral pathogenic ...

Lectins have always demonstrated their role in bearing insecticidal activity. They are although considered to be toxic for mammals but some studies have reported that the presence of mannose binding region is believed to impart non-toxic nature to lectins against mammals including humans. In the present investigation, the research was conducted to elucidate the relationship of lectin gene LECAS...

Celangulin V (CV), one of dihydroagarofuran sesquiterpene polyesters isolated from Chinese bittersweet (Celastrus angulatus Maxim), is famous natural botanical insecticide. Decades of research suggests that is displays excellent insecticidal activity against some insects, such as Mythimna separata Walker. Recently, it has been validated that the H subunit of V-ATPase is one of the target protei...

A new family of insecticidal crystal proteins was discovered by screening sporulated Bacillus thuringiensis cultures for oral activity against western corn rootworm (WCR) larvae. B. thuringiensis isolates PS80JJ1, PS149B1, and PS167H2 have WCR insecticidal activity attributable to parasporal inclusion bodies containing proteins with molecular masses of ca. 14 and 44 kDa. The genes encoding thes...

Griffonia simplicifolia leaf lectin II (GSII), a plant defense protein against certain insects, consists of an N-acetylglucosamine (GlcNAc)-binding large subunit with a small subunit having sequence homology to class III chitinases. Much of the insecticidal activity of GSII is attributable to the large lectin subunit, because bacterially expressed recombinant large subunit (rGSII) inhibited gro...

We created a deterministic, frequency-based model of the evolution of resistance by corn earworm, Helicoverpa zea (Boddie) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae), to insecticidal traits expressed in crops planted in the heterogeneous landscapes of the southern United States. The model accounts for four generations of selection by insecticidal traits each year. We used the model results to investigate the inf...

Visual and gustatory responses of Spodoptera frugiperda Hübner (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) larvae to artificial food dyes were studied. The objective was to determine the ability of these substances to attract and elicit feeding of insect larvae to assess their feasibility for improving the efficacy of ingested insecticides. The artificial food dyes lemon green, lemon yellow, orange red, chlorophy...