Insensitivity of acetylcholinesterase in a field strain of the fall armyworm, Spodoptera frugiperda (J.E. Smith)

Acetylcholinesterase (AChE) was purified from adult heads of the fall armyworm (Spodoptera frugiperda) by using a two-step procedure involving gel filtration on a Sephadex G-200 column and affinity chromatography on a procainamide–ECH Sephadex 4B column. Both susceptible and field strains possessed two AChE isozymes, namely, AChE-1 and AChE-2, with subunit molecular weights of 63.7 and 66.1 kDa. The purified AChE had an apparent Km value of 33.5 μM and a Vmax of 7.07 μmol/min/mg protein in the susceptible strain. The apparent Km and the Vmax were 2.2- and 2.0-fold higher, respectively, in the field strain than in the susceptible strain. The purified AChE from the field strain was 17- to 345-fold less sensitive than that from the susceptible strain to inhibition by carbamates (carbaryl, eserine, methomyl, and bendiocarb) and organophosphates (methyl paraoxon and paraoxon), insensitivity being highest toward carbaryl. The results further support the notion that insensitive AChE played an important role in the insecticide resistance observed in the field strain.