Lectins are proteins that have insecticidal properties and have been assayed against several plant pathogens. Garlic lectins have shown this property, being specially shown by bulb ASAII and ASAI lectins. In this work, we assayed the effect of native bulb ASA lectins and recombinant ASAII lectin on larvae of potato moths (Tecia solanivora). No considerable mortality effect of lectins (native or recombinant) was observed on larvae. However, recombinant ASAII lectin had effect on the pupae mortality, which was bigger than the native lectin effect. When we evaluated the effect of lectins on the weight and fertility of adults, we found that both lectins had a big effect on fertility when lectin is used in a low concentration (lower than 0,003mg/mL). In some cases, lectins produced malformations in female adults in which their fertility was absent. This is the first work in which the insecticidal effect of a lectin on Tecia solanivora is shown.
Carreño, N. Evaluación de la actividad insecticida de lectinas de bulbo de ajo. MSc graduation Thesis. University National of Colombia. Unpublished.
Sadeghi, A., Smagghe G., Broeders, S., Hernalsteens, J.P., De Greve, H., Peumans, W., Van Damme E. (2008). Ectopically expressed leaf and bulb lectins from garlic (Allium sativum) protect transgenic tobacco plants against cotton leafworm (Spodoptera littoralis). Transgenic Res. 17: 9-18.
Keywords: Lectins, insecticidal, recombinant.
