ANALYSIS OF APOPTOSIS IN THE MIDGUT OF Bombyx mori (LEPIDOPTERA: BOMBYCIDAE) TREATED WITH NOVALUROM

• Grant number: 17/16714-3
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships abroad - Research Internship - Doctorate
• Start date: February 13, 2018
• End date: July 19, 2018
• Field of knowledge: Agronomical Sciences - Agronomy - Plant Health
• Principal Investigator: Daniela Carvalho dos Santos
• Grantee: Marilucia Santorum
• Supervisor: Gianluca Tettamanti
• Host Institution: Instituto de Biociências (IBB). Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). Campus de Botucatu. Botucatu , SP, Brazil
• Institution abroad: Università degli Studi dell'Insubria, Italy
• Associated to the scholarship: 15/07119-9 - Toxicity evaluation of the insecticide Novaluron in Bombyx mori (Lepidoptera: Bombycidae), BP.DR

Abstract

The silkworm, Bombyx mori (Lepidoptera: Bombycidae), is the insect of major economic importance for the production of silk. It feeds on mulberry leaves and is highly sensitive to pesticides, thus the use of these compounds in crops surrounding mulberry plantations can affect the development of B. mori, causing an imbalance of its metabolic functions and, consequently, compromise the production of cocoons. Among the insecticides stands out Novalurom, an inhibitor of chitin synthesis which is used for the control of insect pests in crops close to mulberry plantations. With the purpose of evaluating the apoptotic effects of Novalurom in the midgut of B. mori, silkworms will be treated with sublethal doses of the insecticide. After molting from the 2nd to the 3rd larval instar, B. mori larvae will be fed for 24 hours ad libitum with artificial diet treated with the insecticide. In parallel, a treatment with the insecticide will be carried out in larvae undergoing molting from the 4th to the 5th instar. Bombyx mori larvae will be anesthetized and midgut samples will be collected and processed for DNA fragmentation analysis, evaluation of caspase activation and analysis of gene expression. Considering the lack of data about the Novalurom effects in B. mori, this investigation will provide new information on the apoptotic process induced by insecticide treatment. Moreover, given the great economic importance of this insect, these data could positively impact on sericulture.

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)

SANTORUM, MARILUCIA; COSTA BRANCALHAO, ROSE MEIRE; BITTENCOURT GUIMARAES, ANA TEREZA; PADOVANI, CARLOS ROBERTO; TETTAMANTI, GIANLUCA; DOS SANTOS, DANIELA CARVALHO. Negative impact of Novaluron on the nontarget insect Bombyx mori (Lepidoptera: Bombycidae). Environmental Pollution, v. 249, p. 82-90, JUN 2019. (15/07119-9, 17/16714-3)