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© 2022 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). Notwithstanding the ProQuest Terms and Conditions, you may use this content in accordance with the terms of the License.

Abstract

Simple Summary

During the steam distillation of aromatic plants, two main fractions are usually obtained: the hydrophobic essential oils and the hydrophilic fraction commonly known as hydrolate (HY). The essential oils are largely used in several industry fields, including the agricultural industry as biopesticides. Residual HYs, instead, are often discarded as by-products of little or no value. Our research pointed out that also HYs have biological activity, suggesting their potential use in plant-based strategy for the pest control. In more detail, we investigated the insecticidal properties of the hydrolate from Monarda didyma, scarlet beebalm, towards Drosophila suzukii. Using specific molecular and behavioural assays, we showed that M. didyma hydrolate affected the fitness and behaviour of D. suzukii, providing new insights in the D. suzukii control strategies through M. didyma hydrolate.

Abstract

Drosophila suzukii (Matsumara) is an herbivorous pest whose control in the field with conventional chemical is particularly difficult and has important drawbacks. Here, we investigated the insecticidal properties of hydrolate from Monarda didyma, scarlet beebalm, an aromatic herb in the Lamiaceae family. The identification of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) by CG–MS systems revealed that thymol (38%) and carvacrol (59%) were the most abundant VOCs in the hydrolate. M. didyma hydrolate did not show fumigant toxicity. Conversely, in contact assays, M. didyma hydrolate showed a LC50 of 5.03 µL mL−1, 48 h after the application on D. suzukii adults. Expression of detoxification genes increased in flies that survived the LC50 application. Furthermore, toxicity persisted for 7 days after the treatment in the survival evaluation. Artificial diet assays with 100 and 1000 µL mL−1 of M. didyma hydrolate resulted in a significant decrease in total food intake in both male and female D. suzukii adults. In addition, electropenetrography (EPG) showed that the D. suzukii females’ feeding behaviour was altered in hydrolate-treated diets. The hydrolate also caused a significant reduction in the number of eggs laid in two different oviposition assays. Overall, our findings provide a new perspective for the improvement of D. suzukii control strategies through M. didyma hydrolate.

Details

Title
Monarda didyma Hydrolate Affects the Survival and the Behaviour of Drosophila suzukii
Author
Finetti, Luca 1   VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; Civolani, Stefano 2 ; Mirandola, Daniele 1 ; Benetti, Lorenzo 1   VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; Francati, Santolo 3   VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; Albanese, Federica 4 ; Menicucci, Felicia 5 ; Michelozzi, Marco 6 ; Bellardi, Maria Grazia 3   VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; Dindo, Maria Luisa 3 ; Bernacchia, Giovanni 1   VIAFID ORCID Logo 

 Department of Life Science and Biotechnologies, University of Ferrara, Via Borsari 46, 44121 Ferrara, Italy; [email protected] (L.F.); [email protected] (D.M.); [email protected] (L.B.) 
 Department of Environmental Sciences and Prevention, University of Ferrara, Via Borsari 46, 44121 Ferrara, Italy; [email protected] 
 Department of Agricultural and Food Sciences (DISTAL), University of Bologna, Viale Giuseppe Fanin, 40-50, 40127 Bologna, Italy; [email protected] (S.F.); [email protected] (M.G.B.); [email protected] (M.L.D.) 
 Department of Biomedical and Specialty Surgical Sciences, Section of Pharmacology, University of Ferrara, Via Borsari 46, 44121 Ferrara, Italy; [email protected] 
 Institute of Chemistry of Organometallic Compounds, CNR, Via Madonna del Piano 10, 50019 Sesto Fiorentino, Italy; [email protected] 
 Institute of Biosciences and Bioresource, CNR, Via Madonna del Piano 10, 50019 Sesto Fiorentino, Italy; [email protected] 
First page
280
Publication year
2022
Publication date
2022
Publisher
MDPI AG
e-ISSN
20754450
Source type
Scholarly Journal
Language of publication
English
ProQuest document ID
2642428651
Copyright
© 2022 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). Notwithstanding the ProQuest Terms and Conditions, you may use this content in accordance with the terms of the License.