Transcriptomic Insights into Pesticide Resistance Mechanisms in Whiteflies
DOI::
https://doi.org/10.70102/AEJ.2026.18.1.3کلمات کلیدی:
Bemisia tabaci, RNA-seq, Pesticide resistance, Cytochrome P450, Glutathione S-transferase.چکیده
Whiteflies (Bemisia tabaci Gennadius) is one of the most serious agricultural pest complex which leads to massive losses in crops due to direct feeding and virus transmission. Rapid resistance evolution has become a major challenge in conditions of intense agricultural pesticides exposure and presents a threat to the stability of agro-ecosystem and sustainability of pest management practices in the long term. The RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) was used in this study to examine the molecular processes of pesticide resistance in field-grown populations of cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) agro-ecosystems in Haryana and Rajasthan in 2022-2023. High resistance ratios of 47.3-fold imidacloprid and 32.8-fold spiromesifen versus susceptible laboratory populations were found in bioassay results and a high selective pressure of the environment. Transcriptomic comparison found that there were 1, 247 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) comprising of 682 upregulated and 565 downregulated genes. Essential detoxification enzymes including cytochrome P450 monooxygenases (CYP6CM1, 12.4-fold), glutathione S-transferases (GSTe1, 8.7-fold), and cuticular proteins (CPR1, 6.2-fold) were highly activated, which means increased metabolic detoxification and fewer insecticides penetrating in. The enrichment of gene ontology involved oxidationreduction processes, xenobiotic metabolism and detoxification pathways, whereas KEGG analysis confirmed the presence of cytochrome P450- mediated drug metabolism and glutathione pathways. The results of RNA-seq were confirmed by using quantitative real-time PCR results, which had a strong correlation (r = 0.92, p < 0.001). These findings indicate that the molecular adaptation of pesticide resistance in B. tabaci is coordinated to the environmental chemical stress, and these findings have great implications on the agro-ecosystem resilience. The research highlights the necessity of the combination of the transcriptomic monitoring and sustainable pest management strategies to minimize environmental hazards and increase ecological stability.