Evaluation of insect Diaphorina citri development feeding by artificial diets containing recombinant cystatins from Clementine

• Grant number: 21/09947-7
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: November 01, 2021
• End date: April 30, 2023
• Field of knowledge: Agronomical Sciences - Agronomy - Crop Science
• Principal Investigator: Andrea Soares da Costa Fuentes
• Grantee: Karina Fan
• Host Institution: Centro de Ciências Biológicas e da Saúde (CCBS). Universidade Federal de São Carlos (UFSCAR). São Carlos , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Brazil is essentially an agricultural country, being highlighted in citriculture, mainly in the production and export of oranges. However, despite their economic relevance, plantations are severely affected by pests and pathogens, many of which have few effective control measures. Huanglongbing (HLB), known as greening, is the most serious and destructive disease, affecting fruit growth, ripening, and morphology. As a consequence, there is a low juice content and high acidity, making it commercially unfeasible and resulting in serious economic losses. The disease transmitter is the psyllid Diaphorina citri, of the order Hemiptera, which uses proteases, mainly of the cysteine peptidases type, in its digestive processes. Therefore, an alternative for control is the use of protease inhibitors, called cystatin and naturally present in plants, which can directly affect the growth and development of insect pests. Thus, the aim is to test the inhibitory activity of three Citrus clementine cystatins in D. citri artificial diet.(AU)