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ARS Home » Southeast Area » Gainesville, Florida » Center for Medical, Agricultural and Veterinary Entomology » Imported Fire Ant and Household Insects Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #88305

Title: KNOCKDOWN RESISTANCE (KDR) MUTATION IN PYRETHROID-RESISTANT GERMAN COCKROACHES

Author
item DONG, KE - MICHIGAN STATE UNIV
item Valles, Steven
item SCHARF, MIKE - PURDUE UNIV
item ZEICHNER, BRIAN - UNITED STATES ARMY
item BENNETT, GARY - PURDUE UNIV

Submitted to: Meeting Abstract
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 3/3/1998
Publication Date: N/A
Citation: N/A

Interpretive Summary: Knockdown resistance, or kdr, is an insecticide resistance mechanism caused by mutations in the nervous system of some insects. This mechanism often completely eliminates the effectiveness of pyrethroid and related insecticides against many insect species. Although the kdr mechanism has been reported in several German cockroach strains, the extent of the mutation in wild populations was unknown. Scientists at Michigan State University, USDA-ARS (Center for Medical, Agricultural and Veterinary Entomology), Purdue University, and the United States Army (Center for Health Promotion and Preventive Medicine) conducted a survey for the kdr mutation among 25 field-collected strains of the German cockroach. Greater than 80% of the strains surveyed possessed the kdr mutation. Despite the high incidence of the mutation within the field, no direct correlation between the presence of the kdr mutation and resistance level was identified. Additional mechanisms are apparently responsible for conferring insecticide resistance in the German cockroach. Further work is necessary to form a more complete understanding of the mechanisms of insecticide resistance in the German cockroach to provide better control.

Technical Abstract: A point mutation in para-homologous sodium channel genes has been shown to be associated with knockdown resistance (kdr) in several insect species including the German cockroach. In this study, we analyzed the genomic organization of the regions where the kdr mutation resides and then performed polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and sequencing using genomic DNA as the template to detect kdr mutation in twenty four pyrethroid-resistant German cockroach strains, most of which have been collected recently from the field. The kdr mutation, G to C at nt 2979 resulting in a leucine to phenylalanine amino acid substitution, was detected in twenty strains including two strains from overseas (China and Germany). Our results clearly indicate that the kdr mutation is widespread in German cockroach populations. However, the super-kdr mutation detected in super-kdr house flies was not found in any of the four strains that showed higher levels of knockdown resistance. Little correlation was observed between the presence of the kdr mutation and level of knockdown resistance, suggesting existence of multiple resistance mechanisms in many of these strains.