Special Issue "Insecticidal Toxins"

Guest Editor
Prof. Dr. Jean-Louis Schwartz
Department of Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, and Membrane Protein, Research Group (GÉPROM), Université de Montréal, C.P. 6128, Succ. Centre-Ville, Montreal (Quebec), H3C 3J7, Canada
E-Mail: jean-louis.schwartz@umontreal.ca
Interests: pore-forming toxins; biological control; cellular and molecular mode of action of insecticidal bacterial and plant toxins

Guest Editor
Prof. Dr. Laurence Després
Genetic Basis of Adaptation Group (GBA), Alpine Ecology Laboratory (LECA), UMR CNRS 5553, Université J. Fourier, BP 53, 38041 Grenoble Cedex 9, Francef
E-Mail: laurence.despres@ujf-grenoble.fr
Interests: population genetics; environmental biology; host-parasite coevolutionary processes; diptera resistance to bioinsecticides

Guest Editor
Prof. Dr. Célia Carlini
Department of Biophysics and Centre of Biotechnology, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Av. Bento Gonçalves 9500, CEP 91501-970, Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil
E-Mail: ccarlini@ufrgs.br
Interests: toxic proteins and peptides; including insecticidal and antifungal proteins; lectins; proteinases and proteinase inhibitors; phospholipases; neurotoxins; toxins affecting blood coagulation; platelets; pro-inflammatory cells

Dear Colleagues,

Agricultural and forestry crops continue to be significantly afflicted by insect pests, and insects, as disease vectors, remain a considerable threat to human and animal health worldwide. Furthermore, the landscape of pest control is shifting, with increasing concerns about sustainability of natural resources, climate change and pests and disease redistribution on the planet. Most pest control strategies rely on the use of chemical pesticides, with the inevitable onset of resistance and detrimental effects on biodiversity, on the environment and on public health. Biological alternatives ranging from classical biocontrol to the use of biological insecticides have been available for many years, but despite their well documented advantages over chemicals in terms of resistance development and respect of health and the environment, they still represent only a small fraction of the overall pest control effort, because of higher cost, higher labour intensiveness, lesser immediate efficiency and a rather slowly developing public awareness and demand. This special issue on Insecticidal Toxins intends to provide an overview on current progress made in the research and development of biologically based insecticides derived from bacteria, fungi, plants and arthropods. The biological aspects and issues will be addressed at the molecular, the cellular and the population levels. More specifically, it is expected that this issue of Toxins will constitute an update on topics like host biology, mode of action of insecticidal toxins, synergisms, cell responses to toxin aggression, host resistance, interguild interactions, environmental persistence, effects on non-target organisms, transgenic constructs, impact on human health, etc. Furthermore, the use of biological toxins as templates for synthetic insecticides will also be considered. Finally, the economic and social impact of the use of insecticidal toxins will be covered, e.g. public good vs. commercial approaches, regulatory policies, risk assessment, evaluation and communication, and users’ and public attitudes.

Prof. Dr. Jean-Louis Schwartz
Prof. Dr. Laurence Després
Prof. Dr. Célia Carlini
Guest Editors

Submission

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• arthropod
• bacterial toxin
• biodiversity
• biological control
• biopesticide
• detoxification
• disease vector
• economics
• entomopathogen
• environment
• ethics
• genetically modified organism
• insect pest
• microbial pesticide
• mite
• mode of action
• nematode
• plant toxin
• protease
• public health
• public perception
• regulation
• resistance
• risk
• scorpion
• specificity
• spider
• sustainability
• synergism
• transgenic organism
• transgenic plant
• venom

Type of Paper: Review
Title: Toxins for Transgenic Resistance to Hemipteran Pests
Authors: Nanasaheb Chougule and Bryony C. Bonning
Affiliation: Department of Entomology, Iowa State University, Ames, IA 50011, USA; E-Mails: chougule@mail.iastate.edu (N.C.); bbonning@iastate.edu (B.C.B.)
Abstract: The sap sucking insects (Hemiptera), including aphids, whiteflies and plant bugs, have emerged as major agricultural pests. The Hemiptera cause direct damage by feeding on crops, and indirect damage by transmission of plant viruses. Current management relies almost exclusively on application of classical chemical insecticides. While the development of transgenic crops expressing toxins derived from the bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) has provided effective plant protection against some insect crop pests, Bt toxins exhibit little toxicity against sap sucking insects. Indeed, their pest status on Bt-transgenic plants has increased in the absence of pesticide application. The increased pest status of numerous hemipteran species, combined with increased prevalence of resistance to chemical insecticides, provides impetus for development of biologically based, alternative management strategies. Here, we provide an overview of approaches toward transgenic resistance to hemipteran pests, including review of (i) current knowledge of Bt toxin action against the Hemiptera, (ii) physiological factors that may contribute to the low toxicity, and (iii) toxin modification for improved toxicity against hemipteran pests.