Metabolomic analysis of ailanthone-induced alterations in the growth and development of Spodoptera litura larvae

This study aims to clarify the effect of ailanthone on the metabolome of Spodoptera litura.

Liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) was used to detect the differential metabolites of the 3^rd instar larvae of Spodoptera litura treated with ailanthone, and the differential metabolites were annotated, screened, classified and analyzed by metabolic pathways.

The results showed that 419 differential metabolites were identified by non targeted metabolomics techniques, with 157 metabolites upregulated and 262 metabolites downregulated, mainly concentrated in 12 categories such as lipids and lipid-like molecules, organic acid and derivatives, and organoheterocyclic compounds. Among them, the levels of acetyl-L-carnitine, stearoylcarnitine, and gluconic acid were significantly downregulated, reduced to 0.38-, 0.47-, and 0.51-fold of those in the control group, respectively. The levels of N-Linolenoyl glutamine, N-Palmitoleyl glutamine, and Glutamylalanine were upregulated by 8.19-, 7.57-, and 2.18-fold, respectively. The KEGG pathway enrichment results showed that differential metabolites were significantly enriched in 12 metabolic pathways, including purine metabolism, pyruvate metabolism, and TCA cycle.

Ailanthone induced significant alterations in the metabolites of S. litura, which further affects the amino acid metabolism, energy metabolism, purine pyrimidine metabolism and fatty acid metabolism pathways in S. litura, thereby inhibiting the growth and development of S. litura. This study analyzed the metabolic regulation mechanism of Ailanthone in inhibiting the growth and development of S. litura, providing a theoretical basis for the subsequent development of this compound as a plant-based pesticide.