Mutations in acetylcholinesterase associated with insecticide resistance in the cotton aphid, Aphis gossypii Glover.

Two acetylcholinesterase genes, Ace1 and Ace2, have been fully cloned and sequenced from both organophosphate-resistant and susceptible clones of cotton aphid. Comparison of both nucleic acid and deduced amino acid sequences revealed considerable nucleotide polymorphisms. Further study found that two mutations occurred consistently in all resistant aphids. The mutation F139L in Ace2 corresponding to F115S in Drosophila acetylcholinesterase might reduce the enzyme sensitivity and result in insecticide resistance. The other mutation A302S in Ace1 abutting the conserved catalytic triad might affect the activity and insecticide sensitivity of the enzyme. Phylogenetic analysis showed that insect acetylcholinesterases fall into two subgroups, of which Ace1 is the paralogous gene whereas Ace2 is the orthologous gene of Drosophila AChE. Both subgroups contain resistance-associated AChE genes. To avoid confusion in the future work, a nomenclature of insect AChE is also suggested in the paper.