Studies of important metabolic pathways in the control of leaf-cutting ants

• Grant number: 14/12169-2
• Support Opportunities: Regular Research Grants
• Start date: November 01, 2014
• End date: April 30, 2017
• Field of knowledge: Physical Sciences and Mathematics - Chemistry - Organic Chemistry
• Principal Investigator: Dulce Helena Ferreira de Souza
• Grantee: Dulce Helena Ferreira de Souza
• Host Institution: Centro de Ciências Exatas e de Tecnologia (CCET). Universidade Federal de São Carlos (UFSCAR). São Carlos , SP, Brazil

Abstract

One of the factors that contribute to reduce the Would hunger is the development and use of insecticides, which allow the control of pests. The search for new insecticides has been a constant, both in the academy as well as in industry, where the main objective is to obtain less toxic insecticides and low environmental impact. Of fundamental importance for the rational search for new insecticides compounds is the knowledge of metabolic pathways and enzymes essential for insects .The purpose of this research project is to contribute to the knowledge of the chitin synthesis pathway and also cathepsin of the leaf-cutting ants, which are a major pest agricultural and forestry productions in the New World. Due to the fact that vertebrates do not synthesize chitin (polysaccharide crucial to the growth and development of insects), the metabolic pathway of this polymer is an excellent target to be exploited in the development of the control of pests. The chitin synthase (SQ) has been described as a key enzyme in this pathway. So the purpose of this project is to investigate the presence of gene (s) encoding for synthesis of SQ in Atta sexdens and, once identified, assess their function in different stages of development of this organism through technical RNA interference (RNAi). Regarding cathepsins, many studies related cathepsins L of insects in the remodeling of tissues while other studies show insecticidal activity of cathepsin L. There is consensus that cathepsins play an important role in the development and survival of insects and are excellent targets for developing insecticides. The purpose of this project is to obtain a recombinant cathepsin from A sexdens and characterize it biochemistry and kinetically . (AU)

Scientific publications

(References retrieved automatically from Web of Science and SciELO through information on FAPESP grants and their corresponding numbers as mentioned in the publications by the authors)

SANTOS CORREA, KATIA CELINA; MOREIRA, ARIELE CRISTINA; IBRAHIM, AMR GALAL ABD EL-RAHEEM; RAMOS DE JESUS, HUGO CESAR; MICOCCI, KELLI CRISTINA; CRIZOSTOMO KOCK, FLAVIO VINICIUS; BUENO, ODAIR C.; VENANCIO, TIAGO; HENRIQUE-SILVA, FLAVIO; SOUZA, DULCE HELENA F.. Identification and characterization of a recombinant cysteine peptidase (AsCathL) from leaf-cutting ant Atta sexdens Linnaeus, 1758 (Hymenoptera, Formicidae). Protein Expression and Purification, v. 201, p. 10-pg., 2023-01-01. (17/15455-4, 15/21517-7, 14/12169-2, 18/16040-5, 18/06297-9)

ARIELE C. MOREIRA; RENATO L. CARNEIRO; MARIANA F. FRACOLA; KELLI C. MICOCCI; ODAIR C. BUENO; DULCE H. F. SOUZA. Analysis of the Gene Expression and RNAi-Mediated Knockdown of Chitin Synthase from Leaf-Cutting Ant Atta sexdens. Journal of the Brazilian Chemical Society, v. 31, n. 10, p. 1979-1990, 2020-10-09. (17/06198-8, 12/25299-6, 14/12169-2)