Over the last few decades Cry1Ac toxin has been widely used in controlling the insect attack due to its high specificity towards target insects. The pore-forming toxin undergoes a complex mechanism in the insect midgut involving sequential interaction with specific glycosylated receptors in which terminal GalNAc molecule plays a vital role. Recent studies on Cry toxins interactions with specifi...

The corn earworm, Helicoverpa zea (Boddie), is a polyphagous pest found throughout the United States, where it attacks many field and vegetable crops. Although H. zea has long been a traditional pest of sweet corn, its importance to this crop has increased dramatically over the past two decades. In this review, we summarize information critical for current and future management of H. zea in swe...

The seeds of ten genotypes and twenty-nine wild relatives of okra were analysed for the presence of trypsin, chymotrypsin, and Helicoverpa gut proteinases (HGPs) inhibitors (HGPIs), with the aim to identify potent inhibitors of H. armigera gut proteinases. Proteinase inhibitors (PIs) obtained from wild relatives of okra exhibited stronger inhibition of HGPs than the genotypes of okra. In in vit...

New cell lines were recently developed from the embryos of the black cutworm, Agrotis ipsilon (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae). A primary culture was initiated from 4-day-old A. ipsilon eggs in ExCell420 medium supplemented with 5% fetal bovine serum. This initial culture produced sufficient cell growth to allow subcultivation and eventually led to the establishment of eight distinct strains. Two of th...

Plants produce a variety of proteinase inhibitors (PIs) that have a major function in defense against insect herbivores. In turn, insects have developed strategies to minimize the effect of dietary PIs on digestion. We have discovered that Helicoverpa larvae that survive consumption of a multidomain serine PI from Nicotiana alata (NaPI) contain high levels of a chymotrypsin that is not inhibite...

Previous investigations have implicated glutathione S-transferases (GSTs) as one of the major reasons for insecticide resistance. Therefore, effectiveness of new candidate compounds depends on their ability to inhibit GSTs to prevent metabolic detoxification by insects. Cantharidin, a terpenoid compound of insect origin, has been developed as a bio-pesticide in China, and proves highly toxic to...

Any novel protein introduced into the GM crops need to be evaluated for cross affinity on living organisms. Many researchers are currently focusing on the impact of Bacillus thuringiensis cotton on soil and microbial diversity by field experiments. In spite of this, in silico approach might be helpful to elucidate the impact of cry genes. The crystal a protein which was produced by Bt at the ti...

Both large and small scale migrations of Helicoverpa armigera Hübner in Australia were investigated using AMOVA analysis and genetic assignment tests. Five microsatellite loci were screened across 3142 individuals from 16 localities in eight major cotton and grain growing regions within Australia, over a 38-month period (November 1999 to January 2003). From November 1999 to March 2001 relativel...

In order to acquire enough nutrients and energy for further development, larvae need to invest a large portion of their sensory equipments to identify food sources. Yet, the molecular basis of odor-driven behavior in larvae has been poorly investigated. Information on olfactory genes, particularly odorant binding proteins (OBPs) and chemosensory proteins (CSPs) which are involved in the initial...

Proteases produced by Xenorhabdus are known to play a significant role in virulence leading to insect mortality. The present study was undertaken to purify and characterize protease from Xenorhabdus indica, an endosymbiont of nematode Steinernema thermophilum, and to decipher its role in insect mortality and its efficacy to control Helicoverpa armigera. A set of 10 strains of Xenorhabdus isolat...