Changes in expression levels or in gene structures of detoxification
enzymes directly generate corresponding changes in their
detoxification capacities. Specifically, many studies had indicated
that induced overexpression of detoxification genes is tightlycorrelated with insects’ pesticide resistance. However, rare attention
had been focused on the relationship between detoxification
enzyme activities and related gene expression.
In this study, the expression levels of some detoxification enzymes
in the midgut and fatbody of B. mori were monitored by real
time quantitative PCR. We revealed that phoxim-treatment significantly
enhanced the expression of detoxification genes, suggesting
that these genes participate in the metabolism and detoxification
of phoxim insecticides.