RESEARCH ARTICLE
Activity of acetylcholinesterase and acid and alkaline phosphatases
in different insecticide-treated Helicoverpa armigera (Hübner)
Muhammad Bilal
1
&
Shoaib Freed
1
&
Muhammad Zubair Ashraf
1
&
Syed Muhammad Zaka
1
&
Muhammad Bismillah Khan
2
Received: 2 December 2017 /Accepted: 23 May 2018 / Published online: 1 June 2018
#
Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature 2018
Abstract
Helicoverpa armigera is a major devastating insect pest on a wide range of vegetables and cash crops. Insecticides are presently
indispensable for its control in nearly all crops. H. armigera has acquired resistance against almost all insecticides because of the
activity of detoxification enzymes used for the defensive mechanism. The current research was carried out to evaluate the activity
of detoxification enzymes, i.e., acetylcholinesterase and alkaline and acid phosphatases in chlorpyrifos-, bifenthrin-, lufenuron-,
lambda cyhalothrin-, and emamectin benzoate-treated larvae of H. armigera. The maximum AChE activity was recorded in
emamectin benzoate-treated larval samples followed by chlorpyrifos, lufenuron, lambda cyhalothrin and bifenthrin, respectively,
while the highest alkaline phosphatases’ activity was recorded in emamectin and the lowest in bifenthrin-treated H. armigera.As
far as acid phosphatases’ activity is concerned, the highest activity was noted in lufenuron samples while the lowest in lambda
cyhalothrin samples, respectively. Comparatively, activities of alkaline and acid phosphatases were higher than AChE. The
elevated activities of detoxification enzymes can possibly lead to increase in resistance development against synthetic chemical
insecticides.
Keywords Insecticide resistance
.
Helicoverpa armigera
.
Acetylcholinesterase
.
Alkaline and acid phosphatases
Introduction
Helicoverpa armigera (Hübner) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) is a
critical insect pest of several agricultural crops (Bues et al.
2005; Haq et al. 2004;Martinetal.2002). H. armigera causes
many economic problems and yield losses in various crops
mainly soybean, cowpea, cotton, chickpea, tomato, eggplant,
canola, and sunflower (Krishnamoorthy 2002; Feaster and
Steinkraus 1996). H. armigera is generally managed by the
use of insecticides especially carbamates, organochlorines, or-
ganophosphates, and pyrethroids (McCaffery 1998) and due
to the extensive use of these chemicals, it has developed re-
sistance against newer chemistries and conventional insecti-
cides as well (Ahmad et al. 2003).
The development of insecticide resistance in lepidopterous
insects is the main problem of outbreaks of H. armigera
(Ahmad et al. 1995; 1997). Detoxification enzymes are the
main causes of the resistance development in insects.
Acetylcholinesterase (AChE) present in animals, fish, reptiles,
and insects is involved in degradation of acetylcholine (ACh)
and transforming it into inactive products such acetic acid and
choline (Rosenberry 1975). AChE and other phosphatases
have been considered as one of the resistance-causing agents
against carbamates and organophosphate insecticides in
Heliothis virescens (Brown and Bryson 1992)andBemisia
tabaci (Dittrich et al. 1990). In insects, hydrolysis of acetyl-
choline, a neurotransmitting agent, is catalyzed by AChE en-
zyme. Similarly, the hydrolytic enzymes, i.e., acid and alka-
line phosphatases, hydrolyze the phosphomonoesters in or-
ganisms. During metabolic processes, alkaline phosphatases
(ALP) provide phosphate ions from ribonucleo-proteins and
mononucleotide and are also involved in transphosphorylation
(Sakharov et al. 1989). In lepidopteran insects, both acid
Responsible editor: Philippe Garrigues
* Shoaib Freed
sfareed@bzu.edu.pk
1
Department of Entomology, Faculty of Agricultural Sciences and
Technology, Bahauddin Zakariya University, Multan, Punjab,
Pakistan
2
Department of Agronomy, Faculty of Agricultural Sciences and
Technology, Bahauddin Zakariya University, Multan, Punjab,
Pakistan
Environmental Science and Pollution Research (2018) 25:22903–22910
https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-018-2394-3
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