Aphicidal Activity and Biosafety Assessment of Small Peptides in Soybean Plants

作者：Chandni Iqbal, Yimeng Zhang, Yan Liu, Shixiang Pan, Wenyu Sun, Xinyuan Zhang, Zhenyu Zhong, Congwang Cao, Chen Chen, Mahmoodul Hassan, Xinling Yang · 发表于：ACS Agricultural Science & Technology · 年份：2025 · DOI：10.1021/acsagscitech.5c00087 · 被引用次数：1 · 研究领域：Insect and Pesticide Research、Transgenic Plants and Applications、Biochemical and Structural Characterization

Developing eco-friendly pesticides is important for sustainable agriculture, especially against pests like soybean aphids ( Aphis glycines ). Peptide-based compound IV-3 (cinnamic acid-Phe-β-Ala-Trp-Gly) can offer a promising potential insecticide, but further research is needed on the aphicidal activity of its components and concentration effects on soybean plants. Here, the aphicidal activities of the small peptides (Trp-Gly, β-Ala-Trp-Gly, and Phe-β-Ala-Trp-Gly) were first investigated against A. glycines, as tripeptides showed similar activity to tetrapeptide, offering a more cost-effective alternative. In addition, the different effects of a chemical link using an amide bond (cinnamic acid–tetrapeptide = IV-3 ) and a physical mixture (cinnamic acid + tetrapeptide (LC 50 = 30.21 mg L –1 )) on insecticidal efficacy were studied. Chemically combined molecule IV-3 (cinnamic acid–tetrapeptide) contributed significantly more to the insecticidal efficacy than their physical mixture, highlighting the importance of maintaining structural integrity. The intact IV-3 peptide demonstrated superior aphicidal activity (LC 50 = 5.92 mg L –1 ) against soybean aphids compared to that of its individual components, emphasizing the importance of structural integrity. Biosafety tests confirmed that IV-3 seed treatment and foliar application at 12–100 mg L –1 are safe for plants, with 12 mg L –1 promoting growth without phytotoxic effects. We indicated that the small peptide IV-3 showed promis...