Genome-Wide Analysis of Carboxylesterases (COEs) in the Whitefly, <i>Bemisia tabaci</i> (Gennadius)

• Main Authors: Jixing Xia, Haifeng Xu, Zezhong Yang, Huipeng Pan, Xin Yang, Zhaojiang Guo, Fengshan Yang, Litao Guo, Xiaodong Sun, Shaoli Wang, Qingjun Wu, Wen Xie, Youjun Zhang
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2019-10-01
• Series: International Journal of Molecular Sciences
• Subjects: carboxylesterases; <i>bemisia tabaci</i>; expression profile; imidacloprid resistance
• Online Access: https://www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/20/20/4973

The whitefly (<i>Bemisia tabaci</i>), an important invasive pest that causes severe damage to crops worldwide, has developed resistance to a variety of insecticides. Carboxylesterases (COEs) are important multifunctional enzymes involved in the growth, development, and xenobiotic metabolism of insects. However, systematic studies on the COEs of <i>B. tabaci</i> are scarce. Here, 42 putative COEs in different functional categories were identified in the Mediterranean species of <i>B. tabaci</i> (<i>B. tabaci</i> MED) based on a genome database and neighbor-joining phylogeny. The expression patterns of the COEs were affected by the development of <i>B. tabaci</i>. The expression levels of six COEs were positively correlated with the concentration of imidacloprid to which <i>B. tabaci</i> adults were exposed. The mortality of <i>B. tabaci</i> MED adults fed dsBTbe5 (67.5%) and dsBTjhe2 (58.4%) was significantly higher than the adults fed dsEGFP (41.1%) when treated with imidacloprid. Our results provide a basis for functional research on COEs in <i>B. tabaci</i> and provide new insight into the imidacloprid resistance of <i>B. tabaci</i>.