Short communication: Screening of proof-of-concept mutations of honey bee acetylcholinesterase 2 conferring resistance to organophosphorus and carbamate insecticides

Abstract

The introduction of pesticide resistance-inducing mutations into target genes would in theory protect honey bees from the hazardous effects of pesticides. In this paper, to screen amino acid substitutions conferring resistance to organophosphorus and carbamate insecticides, honey bee acetylcholinesterase 2 (AmAChE2) variants with several mutations (V260L, A316S, G342A, G342V, F407Y, and G342V/F407Y) were generated and expressed in vitro using a baculovirus system. The inhibition constants of recombinant native and mutated AmAChE2s against six pesticides were measured. As a result, the A316S mutation was shown to induce high resistance without a catalytic efficiency change.

Keywords: Acetylcholinesterase; Carbamate; Honey bee; Inhibition assay; Organophosphate; Pesticide resistance.