Open Access

ARTICLE

Insecticidal Potential of α-Pinene and β-Caryophyllene against Myzus persicae and Their Impacts on Gene Expression

Talha Ali Chohan^1,*, Tahir Ali Chohan^2,*, Muhammad Zahid Mumtaz¹, Muhammad Waqar Alam³, Salah ud Din⁴, Iqra Naseer⁵, Ayesha Riaz¹, Tayyeba Naseem¹, Areeba Iftikhar⁶, Dur E. Najaf Ali¹, Mubashir Hassan⁷, Hayssam M. Ali⁸

1 Institute of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology (IMBB), The University of Lahore, Lahore, 54000, Pakistan
2 Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Lahore, 54000, Pakistan
3 Deparment of Plant Pathology, University of Okara, Okara, 56300, Pakistan
4 Deparment of Bioinformatics, University of Okara, Okara, 56300, Pakistan
5 Department of Soil Science, The Islamia University of Bahawalpur, Bahawalpur, 63100, Pakistan
6 Department of Zoology, The Islamia University of Bahawalpur, Bahawalpur (Bahawalnagar Campus), 63100, Pakistan
7 The Steve and Cindy Rasmussen Institute for Genomic Medicine, Nationwide Children’s Hospital, Columbus, Ohio, 43205, USA
8 Department of Botany and Microbiology, College of Science, King Saud University, Riyadh, 11451, Saudi Arabia

* Corresponding Authors: Talha Ali Chohan. Email: ; Tahir Ali Chohan. Email:

Phyton-International Journal of Experimental Botany 2023, 92(7), 1943-1954. https://doi.org/10.32604/phyton.2023.026945

Received 05 October 2022; Accepted 22 February 2023; Issue published 29 May 2023

Abstract

Myzus persicae (M. persicae) is now considered a threat to agricultural crops due to economic losses. Numerous synthetic insecticides applied every year against M. persicae, are reported to be unsafe for environment, humans, and beneficial insects. Furthermore, several species of Myzus have been found to develop resistance due to over application of these insecticides. Therefore, it is required to find some novel insecticide that would be safe for the environment as well as for humans. In the current study, two major pure constituents α-pinene and β-caryophyllene were evaluated for their insecticidal potential against M. persicae using a fumigant toxicity assay. Furthermore, impact of α-pinene and β-caryophyllene on expression of five different genes, e.g., HSP 60, FPPS I, OSD, TOL and ANT responsible for reproduction, dispersion, and growth of M. persicae has also been investigated. To perform fumigant toxicity assay, five different concentrations (3.5, 4, 4.5, 5 and 6 μL L⁻¹) of α-pinene and β-caryophyllene were prepared. Lethal concentration (LC) was calculated, and gene expression studies were executed through qRT PCR at LC₃₀ of α-pinene and β-caryophyllene. Both constituents demonstrated excellent fumigant toxicity effects against M. persicae at all five concentrations. However, α-pinene shows significantly better results (98%) as compared to β-caryophyllene (80%) after 72 h at 6 μL L⁻¹ of dose. The highest upregulation in expression was demonstrated at LC₃₀ dose of α-pinene in five in three out of five genes understudy (TOL, ANT, and FPPS I). Conversely, two genes HSP 60 and OSD demonstrated downregulation at LC₃₀ dose of β-caryophyllene. Conclusively, our results highlighted the promising insecticidal potential of both compounds α-pinene and β-caryophylleneby interfering with the reproduction and development related processes in M. persicae, allowing us to recommend the phytoconstituents under investigation as an ecofriendly alternative to synthetic insecticides.

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