ABSTRACT
A large number of insect pests infest crops at various stages including, pre- and post-harvest periods. Since immemorial times, agriculturists have applied numerous protective strategies to control insect infestation viz. variable cultural practices, crop rotation etc. and in modern times the application of chemical pesticides. Chemical pesticides impart environmental (soil, water) toxicity leading to health hazards and also have a negative impact on non-target species, thereby, disrupting natural biological control along with the development of resistance among target pests. Plant lectins combine specifically with the carbohydrate components of glycoproteins, glycolipids and other glycoconjugates in the pest and interfere with insect metabolism. Due to this property plant lectins can be utilised as defence proteins against phytophagous pests. Some of the plant lectins have been tested for their promising entomotoxic potential. This review demonstrates the entomotoxic potential of some candidate lectins and their impact on insect pests.
AUTHOR AFFILIATIONS
1 P.G. Department of Biotechnology, Khalsa College, Amritsar 143002, Punjab, India
2 P.G. Department of Zoology, Khalsa College, Amritsar 143002, Punjab, India
3 P.G. Department of Food Science and Technology, Khalsa College, Amritsar 143002, Punjab, India
CITATION
Singh J, Singh A and Singh S (2023) Entomotoxic Potential of Plant Lectins as an Environment Friendly Tool to Control Insect Pests. Environ Sci Arch 2(2): 205-212.
REFERENCES
1. Beneteau J, Renard D and Marché L, et al. (2010) Binding properties of the N-acetylglucosamine and high-mannose N-glycan PP2-A1 phloem lectin in Arabidopsis. Plant Physiology 153(3):1345-1361. DOI: 10.1104/pp.110.153882.
2. Cavada BS, Osterne VJ and Lossio CF, et al. (2019) One century of ConA and 40 years of ConBr research: a structural review. International Journal of Biological Macromolecules 134:901-911. DOI: 10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2019.05.100.
3. Chandra NR, Kumar N and Jeyakani J, et al. (2006) Lectindb: a plant lectin database. Glycobiology 16(10):938-946. DOI: 10.1093/glycob/cwl012.
4. Chen Y, Peumans WJ and Hause B, et al. (2002) Jasmonate methyl ester induces the synthesis of a cytoplasmic/nuclear chitooligosaccharide‐binding lectin in tobacco leaves. The FASEB Journal 16(8):905-907. DOI: 10.1096/fj.01-0598fje.
5. Cristofoletti PT, Mendonça de Sousa FA and Rahbe Y, et al. (2006) Characterization of a membrane‐bound aminopeptidase purified from Acyrthosiphon pisum midgut cells: A major binding site for toxic mannose lectins. The FEBS Journal 273(24):5574-5588. DOI: 10.1111/j.1742-4658.2006.05547.x.
6. Czapla TH and Lang BA (1990) Effect of plant lectins on the larval development of European corn borer (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae) and southern corn rootworm (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae). Journal of Economic Entomology 83(6):2480-2485. DOI: 10.1093/jee/83.6.2480.
7. Dowd PF, Zuo WN and Gillikin JW, et al. (2003) Enhanced resistance to Helicoverpa zea in tobacco expressing an activated form of maize ribosome-inactivating protein. Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry. 51(12):3568-3574. DOI: 10.1021/jf0211433.
8. Fitches E, Woodhouse SD and Edwards JP, et al. (2001) In vitro and in vivo binding of snowdrop (Galanthus nivalis agglutinin; GNA) and jackbean (Canavalia ensiformis; Con A) lectins within tomato moth (Lacanobia oleracea) larvae; mechanisms of insecticidal action. Journal of Insect Physiology 47(7):777-787. DOI: 10.1016/S0022-1910(01)00068-3.
9. Gatehouse AM, Davison GM and Newell CA, et al. (1997) Transgenic potato plants with enhanced resistance to the tomato moth, Lacanobia oleracea: growth room trials. Molecular Breeding 3:49-63. DOI: 10.1023/A:1009600321838.
10. Gidrol X, Chrestin H and Tan HL, et al. (1994) Hevein, a lectin-like protein from Hevea brasiliensis (rubber tree) is involved in the coagulation of latex. Journal of Biological Chemistry 269(12):9278-9283. DOI: 10.1016/S0021-9258(17)37104-1.
11. Giovanini MP, Saltzmann KD and Puthoff DP, et al. (2007) A novel wheat gene encoding a putative chitin‐binding lectin is associated with resistance against Hessian fly. Molecular Plant Pathology 8(1):69-82. DOI: 10.1111/j.1364-3703.2006.00371.x.
12. Grandhi NJ, Mamidi AS and Surolia (2015) A Pattern recognition in legume lectins to extrapolate amino acid variability to sugar specificity. In Biochemical Roles of Eukaryotic Cell Surface Macromolecules (pp. 199-215). Springer International Publishing. DOI: 10.1007/978-3-319-11280-0_13.
13. Hopkins TL and Harper MS (2001) Lepidopteran peritrophic membranes and effects of dietary wheat germ agglutinin on their formation and structure. Archives of Insect Biochemistry and Physiology 47(2):100-109. DOI: 10.1002/arch.1040.
14. Hossain MA, Maiti MK and Basu A, et al. (2006) Transgenic expression of onion leaf lectin gene in Indian mustard offers protection against aphid colonization. Crop science 46(5):2022-2032. DOI: 10.2135/cropsci2005.11.0418.
15. Jiang SY, Ma Z and Ramachandran S (2010) Evolutionary history and stress regulation of the lectin superfamily in higher plants. BMC Evolutionary Biology 10(1):1-24. DOI: 10.1186/1471-2148-10-79.
16. Macedo ML, Oliveira CF and Oliveira CT (2015) Insecticidal activity of plant lectins and potential application in crop protection. Molecules 20(2):2014-2033. DOI: 10.3390/molecules20022014.
17. Melander M, Åhman I and Kamnert I, et al. (2003) Pea lectin expressed transgenically in oilseed rape reduces growth rate of pollen beetle larvae. Transgenic research 12:555-567. DOI: 10.1023/A:1025813526283.
18. Merzendorfer H (2006) Insect chitin synthases: a review. Journal of Comparative Physiology B. 176:1-5. DOI: 10.1007/s00360-005-0005-3.
19. Michiels K, Van Damme EJ and Smagghe G (2010) Plant‐insect interactions: what can we learn from plant lectins? Archives of Insect Biochemistry and Physiology 73(4):193-212. DOI: 10.1002/arch.20351.
20. Mithöfer A and Boland W (2012) Plant defense against herbivores: chemical aspects. Annual Review of Plant Biology 63:431-450. DOI: 10.1146/annurev-arplant-042110-103854.
21. Murdock LL, Huesing JE and Nielsen SS, et al. (1990) Biological effects of plant lectins on the cowpea weevil. Phytochemistry 29(1):85-89. DOI: 10.1016/0031-9422(90)89016-3.
22. Oliveira CM, Auad AM and Mendes SM, et al. (2014) Crop losses and the economic impact of insect pests on Brazilian agriculture. Crop Protection 56:50-54. DOI: 10.1016/j.cropro.2013.10.022.
23. Paul S and Das S (2021) Natural insecticidal proteins, the promising bio-control compounds for future crop protection. The Nucleus 64:7-20. DOI: 10.1007/s13237-020-00316-1.
24. Powell KS (2001) Antimetabolic effects of plant lectins towards nymphal stages of the plant hoppers Tarophagous proserpina and Nilaparvata lugens. Entomologia Experimentalis et Applicata 99(1):71-78. DOI: 10.1046/j.1570-7458.2001.00803.x.
25. Powell KS, Gatehouse AM and Hilder VA, et al. (1993) Antimetabolic effects of plant lectins and plant and fungal enzymes on the nymphal stages of two important rice pests, Nilaparvata lugens and Nephotettix cinciteps. Entomologia experimentalis et applicata 66(2):119-126. DOI: 10.1111/j.1570-7458.1993.tb00699.x.
26. Procópio TF, Moura MC and Albuquerque LP, et al. (2017) Antibacterial lectins: action mechanisms, defensive roles and biotechnological potential. In Antibacterials: Synthesis, Properties and Biological activities (pp 69-90). New York: Nova Sci Pub.
27. Sadeghi A, Smagghe G and Jurado-Jacome E, et al. (2009) Laboratory study of the effects of leek lectin (APA) in transgenic tobacco plants on the development of cotton leafworm Spodoptera littoralis (Noctuidae: Lepidoptera). European Journal of Entomology 106(1):21-28. http://hdl.handle.net/1854/LU-666186.
28. Sadeghi A, Smagghe G and Broeders S, et al. (2008) Ectopically expressed leaf and bulb lectins from garlic (Allium sativum L.) protect transgenic tobacco plants against cotton leafworm (Spodoptera littoralis). Transgenic Research 17:9-18. DOI: 10.1007/s11248-007-9069-z.
29. Saha P, Majumder P and Dutta I, et al. (2006) Transgenic rice expressing Allium sativum leaf lectin with enhanced resistance against sap-sucking insect pests. Planta 223:1329-1343. DOI: 10.1007/s00425-005-0182-z.
30. Sauvion N, Charles H and Febvay G, et al. (2004) Effects of jackbean lectin (ConA) on the feeding behaviour and kinetics of intoxication of the pea aphid, Acyrthosiphon pisum. Entomologia Experimentalis et Applicata 110(1):31-44 DOI: 10.1111/j.0013-8703.2004.00117.x.
31. Schachter H (2009) Paucimannose N-glycans in Caenorhabditis elegans and Drosophila melanogaster. Carbohydrate Research 344(12):1391-1396. DOI: 10.1016/j.carres.2009.04.028.
32. Schulz R (2004) Field studies on exposure, effects, and risk mitigation of aquatic nonpoint‐source insecticide pollution: A review. Journal of Environmental Quality 33(2):419-448. DOI: 10.2134/jeq2004.4190.
33. Sétamou M, Bernal JS and Legaspi JC, et al. (2002) Evaluation of lectin-expressing transgenic sugarcane against stalkborers (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae): effects on life history parameters. Journal of Economic Entomology 95(2):469-477. DOI: 10.1603/0022-0493-95.2.469.
34. Shahidi-Noghabi S, Van Damme EJ and Smagghe G (2009) Expression of Sambucus nigra agglutinin (SNA-I′) from elderberry bark in transgenic tobacco plants results in enhanced resistance to different insect species. Transgenic Research 18:249-259. DOI: 10.1007/s11248-008-9215-2.
35. Sprawka I, Goławska S and Parzych T, et al. (2015) Apoptosis induction by concanavalin A in gut cells of grain aphid. Arthropod-Plant Interactions 9:133-140. DOI: 10.1007/s11829-015-9356-1.
36. Stoger E, Williams S and Christou P, et al. (1999) Expression of the insecticidal lectin from snowdrop (Galanthus nivalis agglutinin; GNA) in transgenic wheat plants: effects on predation by the grain aphid Sitobion avenae. Molecular Breeding 5:65-73. DOI: 10.1023/A:1009616413886.
37. Subramanyam S, Smith DF and Clemens JC, et al. (2008) Functional characterization of HFR1, a high-mannose N-glycan-specific wheat lectin induced by Hessian fly larvae. Plant physiology 147(3):1412-1426. DOI: 10.1104/pp.108.116145.
38. Tang XT, Ibanez F and Tamborindeguy C (2020) Concanavalin A toxicity towards potato psyllid and apoptosis induction in midgut cells. Insects 11(4):243. DOI: 10.3390/insects11040243.
39. Van Damme EJ, Lannoo N and Peumans WJ (2008) Plant lectins. In Advances in botanical research 48:107-209. Academic Press. DOI: 10.1016/S0065-2296(08)00403-5.
40. Vandenborre G, Groten K and Smagghe G, et al. (2010) Nicotiana tabacum agglutinin is active against Lepidopteran pest insects. Journal of Experimental Botany 61(4):1003-1014. DOI: 10.1093/jxb/erp365.
41. Vandenborre G, Smagghe G and Van Damme EJ (2011) Plant lectins as defense proteins against phytophagous insects. Phytochemistry 72(13):1538-1550. DOI: 10.1016/j.phytochem.2011.02.024.
42. Wang W, Hause B and Peumans WJ, et al. (2003) The Tn antigen-specific lectin from ground ivy is an insecticidal protein with an unusual physiology. Plant Physiology 132(3):1322-1334. DOI: 10.1104/pp.103.023853.
43. Wang Z, Zhang K and Sun X, et al. (2005) Enhancement of resistance to aphids by introducing the snowdrop lectin gene GNA into maize plants. Journal of Biosciences 30:627-638. DOI: 10.1007/BF02703563.
44. Yarasi B, Sadumpati V and Immanni CP, et al. (2008) Transgenic rice expressing Allium sativum leaf agglutinin (ASAL) exhibits high-level resistance against major sap-sucking pests. BMC Plant Biology 8:1-3. DOI: 10.1186/1471-2229-8-102.
45. Zhou X, Li XD and Yuan JZ, et al. (2000) Toxicity of cinnamomin—a new type II ribosome-inactivating protein to bollworm and mosquito. Insect Biochemistry and Molecular Biology 30(3):259-264. DOI: 10.1016/S0965-1748(99)00126-5.
46. Zhu K, Huesing JE and Shade RE, et al. (1996) An insecticidal N-acetylglucosamine-specific lectin gene from Griffonia simplicifolia (Leguminosae). Plant physiology 110(1):195-202. DOI: 10.1104/pp.110.1.195.
License: Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution, and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third-party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons license unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons license and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. Visit for more details http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.