Omics approaches to unravel insecticide resistance mechanism in Bemisia tabaci (Gennadius) (Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae)

Abstract

Bemisia tabaci (Gennadius) whitefly (BtWf) is an invasive pest that has already spread worldwide and caused major crop losses. Numerous strategies have been implemented to control their infestation, including the use of insecticides. However, prolonged insecticide exposures have evolved BtWf to resist these chemicals. Such resistance mechanism is known to be regulated at the molecular level and systems biology omics approaches could shed some light on understanding this regulation wholistically. In this review, we discuss the use of various omics techniques (genomics, transcriptomics, proteomics, and metabolomics) to unravel the mechanism of insecticide resistance in BtWf. We summarize key genes, enzymes, and metabolic regulation that are associated with the resistance mechanism and review their impact on BtWf resistance. Evidently, key enzymes involved in the detoxification system such as cytochrome P450 (CYP), glutathione S-transferases (GST), carboxylesterases (COE), UDP-glucuronosyltransferases (UGT), and ATP binding cassette transporters (ABC) family played key roles in the resistance. These genes/proteins can then serve as the foundation for other targeted techniques, such as gene silencing techniques using RNA interference and CRISPR. In the future, such techniques will be useful to knock down detoxifying genes and crucial neutralizing enzymes involved in the resistance mechanism, which could lead to solutions for coping against BtWf infestation.