Esterase activity and heat shock protein levels in western corn rootworm beetles (Diabrotica virgifera virgifera LeConte, Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae) after pesticide exposure

Abstract

The aim of this study was to investigate how the exposure of the western corn rootworm beetle (WCR) to dimethoate might affect their ability to detoxify and Hsps response. The activity of the esterases: acetylcholinesterase (AChE) and carboxylesterase (CbE) and the level of Hsp90, Hsp70 and Hsp40 was assayed in adult individuals 1 h and 24 h after a topical pesticide application. A slight increase in the esterase activity 1 h after pesticide exposure was followed by a significant decrease in AChE after 24 h. The ELISA method revealed differences in the Hsps concentrations that were dependent on the protein family. Western Blotting data confirmed these results. The esterase activity and Hsps response are discussed.

Keywords:

• WCR
• dimethoate
• esterases
• Hsps
• ELISA
• Western Blotting

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank the technical staff of the Institute of Plant Protection National Research Institute in Sośnicowice and Rzeszów as well as the staff from the Department of Animal Physiology and Ecotoxicology, the University of Silesia in Katowice and students Agnieszka Jeleń and Izabela Kalita. They would also like to thank Agnieszka Babczyńska and Andrzej Kędziorski from the Department of Animal Physiology and Ecotoxicology, Faculty of Biology and Environmental Protection, the University of Silesia in Katowice for critically reading this paper and Chrissy Cutting for proofreading the manuscript.

Disclosure statement

The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest. This article does not contain any studies with human participants or animals that were performed by any of the authors.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Ministry of Science and Higher Education in Poland under Grant No. N N310 088936.