Expression of insect a6-like nicotinic @entity934 receptors in  XXXX highlights a high level of conservation of  the receptor:spinosyn interaction.

@entity238 @entity34258 @entity934
UNASSIGNED: Insecticide research has often relied on model species for elucidating the resistance mechanisms present in the targeted pests. The accuracy and applicability of extrapolations of these laboratory findings to field conditions varies but, for target site resistance, conserved mechanisms are generally the rule rather than the exception (Perry et  al., 2011). The spinosyn class of insecticides appear to fit this paradigm and are a pest control option with many uses in both crop and animal protection. Resistance to spinosyns has been identified in both laboratory-selected and field-collected pest insects. Studies using the model insect, @entity238 , have identified the nicotinic @entity934 receptor subunit, Da6 as an important target of the insecticide @entity34258 (Perry et  al., 2007; Watson et  al., 2010). Field-isolated resistant strains of several agricultural pest insects provide evidence that resistance cases are often associated with mutations in orthologues to Da6 (Baxter et  al., 2010; Puinean et  al., 2013). The expression of these receptors is difficult in heterologous systems. In order to examine the biology of the Da6 receptor subunit further, we used @entity238 as a model and developed an in  vivo rescue system. This allowed us to express four different isoforms of Da6 and show that each is able to rescue the response to @entity34258 . Regulatory sequences upstream of the Da6 gene able to rescue the resistance phenotype were identified. Expression of other @entity238 subunits revealed that the rescue phenotype appears to be Da6 specific. We also demonstrate that expression of pest insect orthologues of Da6 from a variety of species are capable of rescuing the @entity34258 response phenotype, verifying the relevance of this receptor to resistance monitoring in the field. In the absence of a robust heterologous expression system, this study presents an in  vivo model that will be useful in analysing many other aspects of these receptors and their biology.
