Biochemical characterization of digestive carbohydrases in the rose sawfly, Arge rosae Linnaeus (Hymenoptera: Argidae)

Gholamzadeh Chitgar, Moloud; Ghadamyari, Mohammad; Ahsaei, Seyed Mohammad; Ghadamyari, Mohammad; Sharifi, Mahbobe; Hosseini Naveh, Vahid; Sheikhnejad, Hadi

doi:10.48311/jcp.2013.1092

Biochemical characterization of digestive carbohydrases in the rose sawfly, Arge rosae Linnaeus (Hymenoptera: Argidae)

Authors

Moloud Gholamzadeh Chitgar ¹

Mohammad Ghadamyari ¹

Seyed Mohammad Ahsaei ²

Mohammad Ghadamyari ¹

Mahbobe Sharifi ¹

Vahid Hosseini Naveh ²

Hadi Sheikhnejad ¹

¹ Department of Plant Protection, Faculty of Agricultural Science, University of Guilan, Rasht, Iran.

² Department of Plant protection, Faculty of Agricultural Sciences & Engineering, College of Agriculture and Natural Resources, University of Tehran, Karaj, Iran.

10.48311/jcp.2013.1092

Abstract

The rose sawfly, Arge rosae Linnaeus, is one of the most destructive pests of rose bushes in the north of Iran. Nowadays, many attempts have been made to reduce pesticide application by looking for new methods of pest control. A non chemical method for controlling insect pests including A. rosae can be achieved by using genetically engineered plants expressing carbohydrase inhibitors. Therefore, in present study we characterized biochemical properties of digestive carbohydrases in the gut of A. rosae for achieving a new method for control of this pest. The specific activity of α-amylase in the digestive system of last larval instars of A. rosae was obtained as 9.46 ± 0.06 μmol min^-1 mg^-1 protein. Also, the optimal pH and temperature for α-amylase were found to be at pH 8 and 50 °C. As calculated from Lineweaver-Burk plots, the K_m and V_maxvalues for α-amylase were 0.82 mg/ml and 7.32 µmol min^-1 mg^-1protein, respectively, when starch was used as substrate. The effects of ions on amylolytic activity showed that Mg²⁺ and Na⁺ significantly increased amylase activity, whereas SDS and EDTA decreased the enzyme activity. The highest activities of α-/β-glucosidase and β-galactosidase were obtained at pH 5.0. By the native PAGE, three, one, one and two bands were clearly detected for α-amylase, α-/β-glucosidase and β-galactosidase, respectively. No bands were found for α-galactosidase that confirmed the absence or low activity of this carbohydrate in the digestive system of A. rosae. These results could provide the knowledge needed to produce transgenic plants for control of this pest.

Keywords

Arge rosae

&alpha

-amylase

α-/β-glucosidases

β-galactosidases