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The modes of action of Mentha arvensis essential oil on the granary weevil Sitophilus granarius revealed by a label-free quantitative proteomic analysis

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Abstract

Although synthetic pesticides are still used to control insect pests, greater efforts have been made to develop healthier and more environmentally friendly pesticides. Because of their insecticidal properties, botanical essential oils (EOs) are considered as promising alternatives to the use of synthetic insecticides. However, little is known about mechanisms underlying the insecticidal activity of most these natural compounds. In the present study, we evaluated the contact toxicity and the modes of action of the EO from Mentha arvensis against the granary weevil, Sitophilus granarius L. (Coleoptera: Curculionidae), a cosmopolitan insect pest that causes extensive damage to stored cereals. M. arvensis EO caused high contact toxicity in S. granarius adults, resulting in a rapid paralysis and rapid alteration of walking behavior. Our label-free quantitative proteomics approach revealed that M. arvensis EO induced dramatic physiological changes in exposed insects. The majority of the differentially expressed proteins (DEPs) were upregulated and are related to the development and functioning of the muscular and nervous systems, cellular respiration, protein synthesis, and detoxification. These results suggest that M. arvensis essential oil is capable of affecting a variety of biological processes, and shed light on the repair mechanisms put in place in surviving insects to counter the damage inflicted. This work opens new perspectives on the proposed mechanisms of insecticidal activity of a promising EO for controlling pests of stored cereals and may represent a first step in the development of novel bio-rational insecticides.

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The python code used for video tracking is publicly available from the following link: https://gitlab.com/abaoula/codes-opencv

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Acknowledgements

We would like to thank the ERASMUS + EOHUB project which aims to disseminate knowledge in the field of essential oils, as well as the Education, Audio-visual and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA) through the EOHUB project 600873-EPP1-2018-1ES-EPPKA2-KA. Thanks to Saskia Sergeant for her technical assistance. We are grateful to Guillaume Le Goff for his comments. This is publication BRC 269 of the Biodiversity Research Centre at UCLouvain.

Funding

This research was supported by the WALInnove program of the Walloon Region (Belgium) under the convention no1610128, Oilprotect project.

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Correspondence to François Renoz.

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The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest.

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Communicated by Murray Isman.

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Renoz, F., Demeter, S., Degand, H. et al. The modes of action of Mentha arvensis essential oil on the granary weevil Sitophilus granarius revealed by a label-free quantitative proteomic analysis. J Pest Sci 95, 381–395 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10340-021-01381-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10340-021-01381-4

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