Proteomic Response of Aedes aegypti Larvae to Silver/Silver Chloride Nanoparticles Synthesized Using Bacillus thuringiensis subsp. israelensis Metabolites.

Silver/silver chloride nanoparticles (Ag/AgCl NPs) are an alternative approach to control the larvae of Aedes aegypti , a vector of mosquito-borne diseases. However, the molecular mechanisms of Ag/AgCl NPs to A. aegypti have not been reported. In this work, Ag/AgCl NPs were synthesized using supernatant, mixed toxins from Bacillus thuringiensis subsp. israelensis ( Bti ), and heterologously expressed Cry4Aa and Cry4Ba toxins. The images from scanning electron microscopy revealed that the Ag/AgCl NPs were spherical in shape with a size range of 25-100 nm. The larvicidal activity against A. aegypti larvae revealed that the Ag/AgCl NPs synthesized using the supernatant of Bti exhibited higher toxicity (LC 50 = 0.133 μg/mL) than the Ag/AgCl NPs synthesized using insecticidal proteins (LC 50 = 0.148-0.217 μg/mL). The proteomic response to Ag/AgCl NPs synthesized using the supernatant of Bti in A. aegypti larvae was compared to the ddH 2 O-treated control. Two-dimensional gel electrophoresis analysis revealed 110 differentially expressed proteins, of which 15 were selected for identification using mass spectrometry. Six upregulated proteins (myosin I heavy chain, heat shock protein 70, the F 0 F 1 -type ATP synthase beta subunit, methyltransferase, protein kinase, and condensin complex subunit 3) that responded to Ag/AgCl NP treatment in A. aegypti were reported for NP treatments in different organisms. These results suggested that possible mechanisms of action of Ag/AgCl NPs on A. aegypti larvae are: mitochondrial dysfunction, DNA and protein damage, inhibition of cell proliferation, and cell apoptosis. The findings from this work provide greater insight into the action of green synthesized Ag/AgCl NPs on the control of A. aegypti larvae.