Comprehensive Detoxification Mechanism Assessment of Red Imported Fire Ant (Solenopsis invicta) against Indoxacarb

Abstract

The red imported fire ant (Solenopsis invicta) is one of the deadliest invasive ant species that threatens the world by disrupting biodiversity, important functions within a natural ecosystem, and community structure. They are responsible for huge economic losses in the infested countries every year. Synthetic insecticides, especially indoxacarb, have been broadly used to control S. invicta for many years. However, the biochemical response of S. invicta to indoxacarb remains largely undiscovered. Here, we used the sublethal doses of indoxacarb on the S. invicta collected from the eight different cities of Southern China. The alteration in the transcriptome profile of S. invicta following sublethal dosages of indoxacarb was characterized using high-throughput RNA-seq technology. We created 2 libraries, with 50.93 million and 47.44 million clean reads for indoxacarb treatment and control, respectively. A total of 2018 unigenes were regulated after insecticide treatment. Results indicated that a total of 158 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified in the indoxacarb-treated group, of which 100 were significantly upregulated and 58 were downregulated, mostly belonging to the detoxification enzymes, such as AChE, CarE, and GSTs. Furthermore, results showed that most of these DEGs were found in several KEGG pathways, including steroid biosynthesis, other drug metabolizing enzymes, glycerolipid metabolism, chemical carcinogenesis, drug-metabolizing cytochrome P450, glutathione metabolism, glycerophospholipid metabolism, glycolysis/gluconeogenesis, and metabolism of xenobiotics. Together, these findings indicated that indoxacarb causes significant alteration in the transcriptome profile and signaling pathways of S. invicta, providing a foundation for further molecular inquiry.

Role of Insect Gut Microbiota in Pesticide Degradation: A Review

“…Detoxification enzymes occur naturally in various biological processes, functioning on the target sites to neutralize various toxins prevalent in the insect body ( Lin et al, 2015 ; Bhandari et al, 2021 ; Siddiqui et al, 2022 ). According to some previous studies, the biochemical characterization of insect resistance to pesticides is connected to pesticide sensitivity at the target site and pesticide detoxification by metabolic enzymes (acetylcholinesterase, carboxylesterase, glutathione S-transferase, and cytochrome P450) ( Wu et al, 2014 ; Ismail, 2020 ; Yang et al, 2021 ; Siddiqui et al, 2022 ).…”

“…Detoxification enzymes occur naturally in various biological processes, functioning on the target sites to neutralize various toxins prevalent in the insect body ( Lin et al, 2015 ; Bhandari et al, 2021 ; Siddiqui et al, 2022 ). According to some previous studies, the biochemical characterization of insect resistance to pesticides is connected to pesticide sensitivity at the target site and pesticide detoxification by metabolic enzymes (acetylcholinesterase, carboxylesterase, glutathione S-transferase, and cytochrome P450) ( Wu et al, 2014 ; Ismail, 2020 ; Yang et al, 2021 ; Siddiqui et al, 2022 ). These enzymes are crucial in detoxifying xenobiotics ( Hu et al, 2014 ), where their hosts can utilize these enzymes as biological indicators during pesticide detoxification ( Khan et al, 2021 )—for instance, Zhang et al (2016) reported that detoxification enzymes (cytochrome P450 genes) were detected during detoxification of fipronil in the red imported fire ants ( Solenopsis invicta Buren), where up to 36.4-fold rise in resistance was recorded following exposure of the ants to fipronil.…”

Transcriptome analysis reveals differential effects of beta-cypermethrin and fipronil insecticides on detoxification mechanisms in Solenopsis invicta

“…Various detoxifying xenobiotics function as detoxification enzymes in insects, including AChE, CarE, GST, and CYPs, which are responsible for resistance development. Because ants regularly contact toxins, high detoxification enzyme activity must be critical to their survival ( Chen et al, 2014 ; Zhang et al, 2016a ; Zhang et al, 2016b ; Siddiqui et al, 2022b ).…”

Toxicity, horizontal transfer, and physiological and behavioral effects of cycloxaprid against Solenopsis invicta (Hymenoptera: Formicidae)

“…Also, a biotransformation study showed that P450s are the crucial enzymes that oxidate fipronil to fipronil-sulfone. 51 In a recent study, Siddiqui et al 52 screened 158 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) of S. invicta workers exposed to sublethal dosages of indoxacarb. Most of these DEGs are associated with processes of insecticide detoxification and chemical metabolism.…”