Flonicamid mechanism-of-action studies using whole-cell patch-clamping of cultured insect neurons
1FMC, Princeton, NJ, USA and Rider University
2Lawrenceville, NJ, USA
Correspondence: jon.hayashil@fmc.com
A molecular level understanding of a pesticide’s mechanism-of-action is necessary to define the application strategy appropriate to control pests that prey on row crops. Towards this end we have added the standard techniques of whole-cell patch-clamp recording from living insect neurons to our armamentarium in order to resolve the mechanism-of-action of flonicamid, a newly developed pesticidal agent directed against piercing and sucking pests. We found by directly recording ionic current flowing through nicotinic acetylcholine channels (nACh) that flonicamid failed to alter the flow of current through this channel in the three species tested in this work. We conclude, contrary to previous speculation, that flonicamid is not a neonicotinoid. In addition, we have found that flonicamid blockade of the insect A-type potassium channel underlies the lethal effect of this pesticidal agent.