Insecticidal activity of the spider neurotoxin PPTX-04 through modulating insect voltage-gated sodium channel

Ion channels on cell membrane are molecular targets of more than half peptide neurotoxins from spiders. From Pardosa pseudoannulata, a predatory spider on a range of insect pests, we characterized a peptide neurotoxin PPTX-04 with an insecticidal activity. PPTX-04 showed high toxicity to Nilaparvata lugens, a main prey of P. pseudoannulata, and the toxicity was not affected by the resistance to etofenprox (IUPAC chemical name:1-ethoxy-4-[2-methyl-1-[(3-phenoxyphenyl)methoxy]propan-2-yl]benzene, purity: 99%). On N. lugens voltage-gated sodium channel NlNa_v1 expressed in Xenopus oocytes, PPTX-04 prolonged the channel opening and induced tail currents, which is similar to pyrethroid insecticides. However, PPTX-04 potency on NlNa_v1 was not affected by mutations conferring pyrethroid resistance in insects, which revealed that PPTX-04 and pyrethroids should act on different receptors in NlNa_v1. In contrast, two mutations at the extracellular site 4 significantly reduced PPTX-04 potency, which indicated that PPTX-04 would act on a potential receptor containing the site 4 in NlNa_v1. The result from the molecular docking supported the conclusion that the binding pocket of PPTX-04 in NlNa_v1 should contain the site 4. In summary, PPTX-04 had high insecticidal activity through acting on a distinct receptor site in insect Na_v, and was a potential resource to control insect pests and manage resistance to pyrethroids.