Abstract :
[en] Although synthetic pesticides are still used to control insect pests, greater eforts 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 diferentially expressed proteins (DEPs) were upregulated and are related to the development and functioning of
the muscular and nervous systems, cellular respiration, protein synthesis, and detoxifcation. These results suggest that M.
arvensis essential oil is capable of afecting a variety of biological processes, and shed light on the repair mechanisms put in
place in surviving insects to counter the damage inficted. 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 frst step in the development of novel bio-rational insecticides.
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