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Molecular Entomology 2013, Vol.4, No.3, 13-21

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13

Research Article Open Access

Wheat and Triticale Proteinacious Seed Extracts Inhibit Gut α-amylase and

Protease of the Carob Moth,

Ectomyelois ceratoniae

Ehsan Borzoui , Ali Reza Bandani

Plant Protection Department, College of Agriculture and Natural Resources, University of Tehran, Karaj, Iran

Corresponding author email: abandani@ut.ac.ir;

Molecular Entomology 2013, Vol.4, No.3 doi: 10.5376/me.2013.04.0003

Received: 18 Feb., 2013

Accepted: 28 Feb., 2013

Published: 28 Mar., 2013

Copyright

unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Preferred citation for this article:

Borzoui and Bandani, 2013, Wheat and Triticale Proteinacious Seed Extracts Inhibit Gut α-amylase and Protease of the Carob Moth,

Ectomyelois ceratoniae

,

Molecular Entomology, Vol

.

4,

No. 3

13

-

21 (doi: 10.5376/me.2013.04.0003)

Abstract

The carob moth,

Ectomyelois ceratoniae

(Zeller) (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae), is a serious pest of stored products and fruit

trees throughout the world. Various agricultural, mechanical, biological and chemical methods are used for the pest control but with

little or no success. The aim of the current study was to investigate the effect of wheat and triticale seed proteinaceous extracts on the

digestive enzymes of the carob moth. So, the fourth instar larva were dissected, their gut were removed and their digestive enzymes,

α-amylase and protease, were extracted using homogenization and centrifugation procedures. The effect of wheat and triticale seed

extracts at concentrations of 0.10 mg protein/mL, 0.20 mg protein/mL, 0.40 mg protein/mL, 0.85 mg protein/mL, and 1.70 mg

protein/mL were tested on the gut enzyme activities. Results showed that α-amylase and protease activity in the presence of wheat

and triticale seed extracts showed a dose dependent inhibition. The effect of wheat seed extract is greater than the triticale seed

extract on the both enzyme activity. The lowest concentration of wheat and triticale seed extracts (0.106 mg protein/mL) inhibited

39% and 18% of the amylase activity, respectively whereas the highest concentration of the two seed extracts including wheat and

triticale inhibited 82% and 75% amylase activity, respectively. At the highest concentration, wheat and triticale seed extracts inhibited

protease activity 61.5% and 56.8%, respectively. In gel assays confirmed the effect of the seed extracts on the both enzyme assays.

These data shows that cereal seed extracts contain proteinaceous molecules that can interfere with digestive enzymes of the insect but

with different specificity.

Keywords

Carob moth; Digestive enzymes; Inhibition; Wheat; Triticale

Introduction

The pomegranate,

Punica granatum

L. (Punicaceae),

is one of the oldest cultivated species which is native

to Iran but nowadays it is widespread throughout the

Mediterranean area of Asia, Africa and Europe

(Durgac et al., 2008). The carob moth,

Ectomyelois

ceratoniae

(Zeller) (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae), is one of

the most important pest of stored products and fruit

trees throughout the world (Nay and Perring, 2006).

Thus, it is a major pest on date in Southern California

(USA), almonds in Israel, pomegranate in Iraq and

Pomegranate and pistachio in Iran (Gothilf, 1984;

Warner, 1988; Behdad, 2002; Nay and Perring, 2005;

Karami et al, 2011).

The larvae feed inside the fruit and cause great

damages to fruit quality so that in some area it spoils

more than 80% of the fruits (Shakeri, 2004). Various

agricultural and mechanical methods including

removing the flags, covering Pomegranate fruit neck

by straw, collecting and destroying of the infested fruit

during the winter season as well as biological control

are listed for the pest control (Kishani et al., 2012;

Nasrollahi et al., 1998). However, these control

methods were not successful. Since the larvae feed

inside the fruit, on one hand pesticide applications

have not been successful and on the other hand

pesticide use has its own limitation due to problem

associated with their use. In addition, the public and

academia concerns the over use of pesticides on fruits

and food safety have raised many issues. In addition,

the occurrence of resistance in the insect pests is

another issue which strengthens the need for

alternative pest control strategies in IPM (integrated

pest management) (Hagstrum and Subramanyam,

1996; Yildirim et al., 2001; Isman, 2006). In recent

years considerable investigations have been done on

plants and microbes derived materials for potentially

useful products and genes to be used in pest control.