Cloning and sequence analysis of the esterase gene fragment of the striped flea beetle, Phyllotreta striolata
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Key Words:Phyllotreta striolata, insecticide resistance, esterase gene, cloning
Abstract: The striped flea beetle (SFB), Phyllotreta striolata (Fabricius) is a major pest of cruciferous vegetables. The resistance of this pest to insecticides has been increasing in recent years. Cloning of the SFB esterase gene may provide a solid and scientific basis for developing strategies to manage pesticide resistance in this species. RTPCR was undertaken to clone one nucleotide fragment of 281 bp, and the 3′RACE used to obtain a 3′sequence (1 468 bp of the fragment, GenBank accession number EU166919) encoded by 442 amino acids. Homological analysis revealed that the obtained fragment was most similar to the esterase1 genes of Tribolium castaneum and T. confusum, with a nucleotide identity of 71% (211/297). The cloned fragment was also 70% (156/222) identical with the alphaesterase5 gene of Drosophila melanoqaster. The amino acid sequence had 43% (188/434), 43% (188/434) and 33% (144/432) similarity to the esterase genes of T.confusum, T. castaneum and D. melanoqaster, respectively. It can therefore be inferred that the obtained fragment should be a partial nucleotide sequence of the SFB esterase gene.