Dietary effects of four phytoecdysteroids on growth and development of the Indian meal moth, Plodia interpunctella
1PER - Centre des Etudes Environnementales Méditerranéennes, Laboratoire de Biologie Appliquée & Sciences de l’Environnement, Université Abdelmalek Essaadi, Faculté des Sciences et Techniques, BP 416, Tangier, Morocco
2Université Pierre et Marie Curie, Laboratoire BIOSIPE (ER3) Quai St. Bernard, 75252 Paris 05, France
Abstract
Using pure phytoecdysteroids isolated from ajuga iva (L.) Schreber (Lamiales: Lamiaceae) and Silene nutans L. (Caryophyllales: Caryophyllaceae), plants known for their high ecdysteroid content, a study was carried out on the effects of ingestion of four different phytoecdysteroids (20-hydroxyecdysone, polypodine B, ponasterone A and makisterone A) on the growth and development of the Indian meal moth, Plodia interpunctella Hübner (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae) larvae when added at a concentration of 200 ppm in their diet. The experiments clearly showed the susceptibility of P. interpunctella to phytoecdysteroid ingestion. The toxicity of phytoecdysteroids manifested itself by a decrease in larval weight, induction of cannibalism and an increase of mortality, together with disruption of development. The severity of the phytoecdysteroid effect on P. interpunctella depended on the structure of the molecule. The results demonstrate that the minimal structural differences existing between these four phytoecdysteroids significantly affected their toxicity toward P. interpunctella. Makisterone A was the most toxic of the four compounds towards P. interpunctella larvae. In conclusion, phytoecdysteroids ingestion show potent, disruptive growth effects on P. interpunctella. This work supports a role for phytoecdysteroids in plant defence against phytophagous insects.
Keywords: ajuga iva, Silene nutans, bioinsecticides, ecdysteroids, phytophagous insect, toxicity
Correspondence: a*k_rharrabe@yahoo.fr, brene.lafont@snv.jussieu.fr, *Corresponding author, ∆deceased, July 5th 2008.
Received: 11 November 2008 | Accepted: 20 January 2009 | Published: ************** 2010
Copyright: This is an open access paper. We use the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 license that permits unrestricted use, provided that the paper is properly attributed.
ISSN: 1536-2442 | Volume 10, Number 13
Rharrabe K, Sayah F, LaFont R. 2010. Dietary effects of four phytoecdysteroids on growth and development of the Indian meal moth, Plodia interpunctella 12pp. Journal of Insect Science 10:13, available online: insectscience.org/10.13
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