title: Piperonyl butoxide induces the expression of cytochrome P450 and glutathione S-transferase genes in Drosophila melanogaster.
abstract: Piperonyl butoxide (PBO) is an insecticide synergist known to inhibit the activity of cytochrome P450 enzymes. PBO is currently used in some insecticide formulations, and has also been suggested as a pretreatment for some pesticide applications. Little is known about how insects respond to PBO exposure at the gene transcription level. The authors have characterised the transcriptional response of the Drosophila melanogaster genome after PBO treatment, using both a custom-designed 'detox' microarray, containing cytochrome P450 (P450), glutathione S-transferase (GST) and esterase genes, and a full genome microarray. A subset of P450 and GST genes is identified, along with additional metabolic genes, that are induced by PBO. The gene set is an extremely similar gene set to that induced by phenobarbital, a compound for which pretreatment is known to confer tolerance to a range of insecticide compounds. The implications of the induction of gene families known to metabolise insecticides and the use of PBO in pest management programs are discussed.
authors.affiliation: Centre for Environmental Stress and Adaptation Research (CESAR), Department of Genetics, Bio21 Molecular Science and Biotechnology Institute, The University of Melbourne, Victoria 3010, Australia.
authors.forename: Lee
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Willoughby
authors.forename: Philip
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Batterham
authors.forename: Phillip J
authors.initials: PJ
authors.lastname: Daborn
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D003577:Cytochrome P-450 Enzyme System / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D004331:Drosophila melanogaster / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D015870:Gene Expression / Q000187:drug effects; D020869:Gene Expression Profiling; D049750:Genome, Insect; D005982:Glutathione Transferase / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D007305:Insecticide Resistance / Q000235:genetics; D008297:Male; D020411:Oligonucleotide Array Sequence Analysis; D010574:Pesticide Synergists / Q000494:pharmacology*; D010882:Piperonyl Butoxide / Q000494:pharmacology*
chemical_list: D010574:Pesticide Synergists; D003577:Cytochrome P-450 Enzyme System; D005982:Glutathione Transferase; D010882:Piperonyl Butoxide