Efficiency of Mannose-Binding Plant Lectins in Controlling a Homopteran Insect, the Red Cotton Bug ANITA ROY, ² SANTANU BANERJEE, ‡ PRALAY MAJUMDER, ‡ AND SAMPA DAS* ,‡ Plant Molecular and Cellular Genetics, Bose Institute, P1/12 C.I.T. Scheme VII(M), Kolkata 700054, India, and Pulse and Oilseed Research Station, Berhampore, West Bengal, India Yield losses of different crops due to the attack of various classes of insects are a worldwide problem. Sucking type homopteran pests causing damage to many crop species are not controlled by commonly known insecticidal proteins, namely, Bacillus thuringiensis δ-endotoxin (Bt). This study describes the purification of mannose-binding lectins from three different monocotyledonous plants (Allium sativum, Colocasia esculenta, and Diffenbachia sequina) and their effects on a homopteran insect, the red cotton bug. All of them had a detrimental effect on the growth and development of the insect, where A. sativum bulb lectin showed the highest mortality of all, in particular. The same bulb lectin not only affected the growth and fecundity of the insect but also imparted drastic changes in the color, weight, and size, even on the second generation of the insects which have been reared on artificial diet supplemented with a sublethal dose of the lectin. Thus, this finding opens up a possibility of using this lectin as an important component in crop management. KEYWORDS: Mannose-binding plant lectins; homopterans; Bacillus thuringiensis; LC50 INTRODUCTION Cotton, the prime cash crop of India, has the greatest insect predation problem. In India, to protect the crop from insect attack, huge amounts of pesticides (54% of the total pesticide consumed in India) are applied to the cotton fields. In recent years, as a consequence of the extensive use of synthetic pesticides in controlling the most damaging lepidopteran pest, the cotton boll worm (1), other pests, namely, aphids, whiteflies, mealybugs, and mites, have emerged in a major way. Likewise, the red cotton bug (Dysdercus koenigii/cingulatus) has become an important pest. Apart from cotton, this homopteran group of insects also feed on okra, maize, pearl millet, etc. The adult bugs are 0.6-1 cm in length, slender, and colored crimson red with white bands across the abdomen. The membranous parts of forewings, antennae, and scutellum are black. The adults and nymphs both feed gregariously on the leaves and the green bolls. The attacked bolls do not open properly; as a result, the quality of the lint is reduced, the oil content of the seed decreases, and the germination of the seeds is affected. During ginning, the lint becomes stained with the crushed nymphs and deposited excreta, which affects the market value of the crop. Lint also is stained by the crushed bacterium Nematospora gosypii, trans- mitted into the boll by this bug. Unfortunately, the insect is not affected by an established biocontrol agent like Bt (Bacillus thuringiensis endotoxin). Due to the typical feeding habit of sucking away the free sugars and amino acids from the plant sap (2), it does not depend on the protease or amylase type of digestive enzymes. Therefore, controlling these insects by inhibitors of any of the above-mentioned enzymes is of no use. Alternatively, several plant lectins have been reported previ- ously to have detrimental effects on several pests (3-11). With these in mind, mannose-binding lectins, namely, ASAI and -II, CEA, and DEA, have been isolated and purified from bulbs of Allium satiVum, tubers of Colocasia esculenta, and leaves of Dieffenbachia sequina, respectively. This study describes the purification of these lectins, monitoring of their insecticidal activity on the red cotton bug, and determination of the LC 50 values of the toxins via an insect bioassay with different concentrations of the three above-mentioned lectin types. Analyses of the effects of these lectins on mortality rate at nymphal stages have been carried out. These lectins have a detrimental effect on the fecundity pattern and the rate of growth and development. Additionally, drastic phenotypic changes in the next generation of insects, hatched from the eggs laid by the adult insects, which survived on diet supplemented with low concentrations of lectin have been observed. MATERIALS AND METHODS Plant Material. Bulbs of A. satiVum (garlic), leaves of D. sequina, and tubers of C. esculenta were collected from local fields. Red cotton bugs were collected from local gardens. Purification of Lectin from Garlic Bulbs. Garlic bulbs (10 g) were homogenized with a blender in 1 M ammonium sulfate. Five to ten milliliters of an ammonium sulfate solution was used per gram of fresh tissue. The extract was filtered through cheesecloth and centrifuged (5000g for 10 min). The resulting supernatant was then frozen overnight at -20 °C. After being thawed, the suspension was centrifuged and * To whom correspondence should be addressed. Fax: 91 033 3343886. E-mail: sampa_d@rediffmail.com. ² Pulse and Oilseed Research Station. ‡ Bose Institute. J. Agric. Food Chem. 2002, 50, 6775-6779 6775 10.1021/jf025660x CCC: $22.00 © 2002 American Chemical Society Published on Web 10/02/2002