Spodoptera litura (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) is globally considered one of the most important agricultural pests. It is a highly prevalent insect pest that severely damages several vegetables and crops, including cotton, castor, tobacco, beet, soybean, and cabbage. The implementation of integrated pest management (IPM) practices has led to a slight controlling of its population in the field; however, these practices are always linked with the high economic and environmental costs for eradication. In the last decade, many researchers have reported the control of this devastating insect via the utilization of nanoparticles (NPs); however, the mechanism behind its toxicity is still a gap area. In our study, we investigated the toxic impact of carbon nanoparticles (CNPs) on S. litura when administered orally. A range of immunomodulatory responses were observed, including a distorted morphology (such as abnormal pupa, distorted wings in insects, etc.) and reproductive physiology, weight reduction, and even insect death. Mass spectrometric analysis of differentially expressed proteins suggests significant downregulation of storage proteins in the larval hemolymph, which in turn resulted in an altered expression/synthesis of developmental and reproductive proteins, including vitellogenin (the major egg-filling protein required for developing embryo nourishment), in the treated insects. The poor accumulation of vitellogenin in developing eggs led to a disrupted life cycle and restricted population growth. This is the first study that provides insights into the molecular mechanism behind the toxicity offered by these tiny carbon particles.

中文翻译：

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碳纳米颗粒对杂食性害虫斜纹夜蛾储存蛋白积累及世代进展的影响

斜纹夜蛾（鳞翅目：夜蛾科）被全球认为是最重要的农业害虫之一。它是一种非常流行的害虫，严重损害多种蔬菜和农作物，包括棉花、蓖麻、烟草、甜菜、大豆和卷心菜。综合虫害管理（IPM）做法的实施导致其在田间的数量略有控制；然而，这些做法总是与根除的高昂经济和环境成本联系在一起。在过去的十年中，许多研究人员报告了通过利用纳米颗粒（NP）来控制这种毁灭性昆虫。然而，其毒性背后的机制仍然是一个空白领域。在我们的研究中，我们研究了口服碳纳米颗粒（CNP）对斜纹夜蛾的毒性影响。观察到一系列免疫调节反应，包括形态扭曲（如异常的蛹、昆虫翅膀扭曲等）和生殖生理、体重减轻，甚至昆虫死亡。差异表达蛋白的质谱分析表明幼虫血淋巴中储存蛋白的显着下调，这反过来导致发育和生殖蛋白的表达/合成改变，包括卵黄蛋白原（发育胚胎营养所需的主要卵子填充蛋白），在经过处理的昆虫中。发育中的卵子中卵黄蛋白原积累不良导致生命周期中断并限制种群增长。这是第一项深入了解这些微小碳颗粒毒性背后的分子机制的研究。