MAPK-directed activation of the whitefly transcription factor <i>CREB</i> leads to P450-mediated imidacloprid resistance
Xin Yang, Shun Deng, Xuegao Wei, Jing Yang, Qiannan Zhao, Cheng Yin, Tianhua Du, Zhaojiang Guo, Jixing Xia, Zezhong Yang, Wen Xie, Shaoli Wang, Qingjun Wu, Fengshan Yang, Xuguo Zhou, Ralf Nauen, Chris Bass, Youjun Zhang
Abstract
Significance Most studies of pesticide resistance have focused on the identification and functional analysis of resistance genes, but few studies have considered the signaling pathways involved in their regulation. In this work, we discovered that overexpression of a P450 that confers resistance to neonicotinoid insecticides in whitefly is trans -regulated by the transcription factor CREB . Further studies demonstrated that exposure to neonicotinoid insecticides activates a key pathway involved in the cellular response to extracellular signals, the MAPK signaling pathway, that activates CREB by phosphorylation. CREB then binds to a specific site on the promoter of CYP6CM1 resulting in its increased expression. These findings reveal mechanisms underlying the regulation of P450-mediated pesticide resistance and also provide a potential target for pest control.