Pea Albumin 1 subunit b (PA1b), a promising bioinsecticide of plant origin

Abstract

PA1b (Pea Albumin 1, subunit b) is a peptide extract from pea seeds showing significant insecticidal activity against certain insects, such as cereal weevils (genus Sitophilus), the mosquitoes Culex pipiens and Aedes aegyptii, and certain species of aphids. PA1b has great potential for use on an industrial scale and for use in organic farming: it is extracted from a common plant; it is a peptide (and therefore suitable for transgenic applications); it can withstand many steps of extraction and purification without losing its activity; and it is present in a seed regularly consumed by humans and mammals without any known toxicity or allergenicity. The potential of this peptide to limit pest damage has stimulated research concerning its host range, its mechanism of action, its three-dimensional structure, the natural diversity of PA1b and its structure-function relationships.

Keywords: PA1b; Legumes; bioinsecticide; insect.

Figure 1

PA1b primary structure. The cysteine residue pairing is shown below [3].

Figure 2

The gene and amino acid sequences of pea albumin 1 (PA1).

Figure 3

Alignment of PA1b amino-sequences from different Fabaceae.

Figure 4

Ribbon representation of PA1b 3-D structure.

Figure 5

The three-dimensional structure of PA1b and its molecular surface (in cyan) showing the residues (in red) that are essential for receptor binding and insecticidal activity of PA1b [33].