Developing a methodology to search for new insecticidal agents using Drosophila melanogaster Meigen
E. K. KARPOVA1, N. V. ADONYEVA1, O. I. YAROVAYA1,2, O. A. LUZINA2, V. V. ORESHKO1,2, K. S. KOVALEVA1,2, S. N. SHARMANKINA1, N. E. GRUNTENKO1
1Institute of Cytology and Genetics, Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Novosibirsk, Russia
2Vorozhtsov Novosibirsk Institute of Organic Chemistry, Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Novosibirsk, Russia
Keywords: insecticides, usnic acid, terpenoids, bornyl acetate, Drosophila melanogaster
Abstract
A simple and effective testing system for potential insecticides using the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster is proposed. This insect species is widely used in genetic, toxicological and pharmacological studies due to the ease of its maintenance and the similarity of its fundamental biochemical pathways to other insects. The relevance of the study stems from the need to standardise and automate the process of primary selection of insecticides. The use of Drosophila melanogaster allows for rapid evaluation of the acute and chronic toxicity of compounds, their impact on reproductive function and behaviour, and provides a comprehensive overview of the potential drug impact. The efficiency of the developed method based on using fruit flies to evaluate the insecticidal activity has been demonstrated for a series of compounds including bornyl acetate, for which insecticidal activity has been shown previously, other synthetic derivatives of borneol, as well as semi-synthetic derivatives of usnic acids. The proposed method is simple, inexpensive, and can be easily scaled up for mass screening of compounds with potential insecticidal activity at the early stages of their development.
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