Advances in chitin metabolic pathway and its regulatory mechanisms in insects

Chitin is an important structural component of insect exoskeleton, tracheal system, salivary gland, peritrophic membrane, wing hinges and so on. The chitin metabolism enzymes play a major role in the synthesis and degrade of chitin, and their precise expression during development ensures the correct occurrence of physiological processes such as chitin synthesis and molting in insects. Chitin metabolic pathway is not present in plant and vertebrate animals, so key enzymes in the chitin metabolic pathway are considered to be potential targets for designing new pesticides. This paper summarized the chitin metabolic pathways, the metabolism enzymes, and the regulation mechanism, as well as the shortcomings and research prospects in pest control, in order to provide a theoretical basis for the development and application of insect chitin metabolism enzymes in the field of pest management.