Lepidopteran insect susceptibility to silver nanoparticles and measurement of changes in their growth, development and physiology

•Silver nanoparticle treatments decreased body weights of lepidopteran larvae.•Major amounts of silver were eliminated through the feces.•Localization of silver nanoparticles can be observed in the larval gut organelles.•Treatments had also affected the activity of detoxifying enzymes.•Oxidative stress induced in larval guts was countered by enhanced antioxidant enzymes.

Increased use of nanomaterials in various fields of science has lead for the need to study the impact of nanomaterial on the environment in general and on insect and plant life in particular. We studied the impact of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) on growth and feeding responses of two lepidopteran pests of castor plant (Ricinus communis L.) namely Asian armyworm, Spodoptera litura F. and castor semilooper, Achaea janata L. Larvae were fed with PVP coated-AgNPs treated castor leaf at different concentrations and their activity was compared to that of silver nitrate (AgNO3) treated leaf diets. Larval and pupal body weights decreased along with the decrease in the concentrations of AgNPs and AgNO3 in both the test insects. Low amounts of silver were accumulated in the larval guts, but major portion of it was eliminated through the feces. Ultrastructural studies of insect gut cell using Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) showed accumulation of silver nanoparticles in cell organelles. Changes in the antioxidative and detoxifying enzymes of the treated larva were estimated. The effect of treatments showed differences in the activities of detoxifying enzymes, carboxylesterases (CarE), glucosidases (Glu) and glutathione S-transferases (GST) in the larval gut. Activities of superoxide dismutase, catalase, and peroxidase were also altered in the larval bodies due to the AgNPs treatments, suggesting that exposure of larvae to nanoparticles induces oxidative stress, which is countered by antioxidant enzymes. Induction of these enzymes may be an effective detoxification mechanism by which the herbivorous insect defends itself against nanoparticle treatment.

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