The retardant effect of 2-Tridecanone, mediated by Cytochrome P450, on the Development of Cotton bollworm, Helicoverpa armigera

BACKGROUND: Plant allelochemicals act as toxins, inhibitors of digestion, and deterrents that affect the fecundity of insects. These compounds have attracted significant research attention in recent decades, and much is known about the effects of these xenobiotic plant secondary metabolites on insect development. To date, although ecological interactions between xenobiotic plant secondary chemicals that retard insect growth have been observed in many species, it remains unclear how particular allelochemicals influence insect development in a life stage-dependent manner. RESULTS: We found that 2-tridecanone can affect insect development; this effect appears similar to the symptoms induced by the physiological imbalance between juvenile and molting hormones in cotton bollworm. We later detected that a decrease in the concentration of 20-hydroxyecdysone occurred alongside the observed symptoms. We next identified the transcriptome of Helicoverpa armigera and eightdigital gene expression libraries for shading light on how 2-tridecanone retarded the development of cotton bollworm. The expression of CYP314A1, CYP315A1, CYP18A1, CYP307A1, and CYP306A1 (unigenes 16487, 15409, 40026, 41217, 35643, 16953, 8199, 13311, and 13036) were found to be induced by 2-tridecanone; these are known to be related to the biosynthesis or metabolism of 20-hydroxyecdysone. Expression analysis and RNA interference studies established that the retardant effect of 2-tridecanone on the development of cotton bollworm is mediated by P450 genes. CONCLUSIONS: The candidate P450 gene approach described and exploited here is useful for identifying potential causal genes for the influence of plant allelochemicals on insect development. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12864-016-3277-y) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.