Now imagine if you can block Trehalose, causing great distress to insects, what happens when you block Chitin synthesis? Are bugs supposed to have huge holes in their waxy exoskeletons?

Trehalose blockers as a promising avenue for insecticide development

Trehalase: A Key Enzyme for Trehalose Breakdown
Insects utilize trehalose by breaking it down into glucose units through the action of an enzyme called trehalase. Trehalase exists in two forms: a soluble form (Tre-1) and a membrane-bound form (Tre-2). Both forms are essential for various physiological functions in insects, including energy supply, stress recovery, chitin synthesis, and flight.

Trehalase inhibitors: A new class of insecticides
Due to the crucial role of trehalase in insect metabolism, inhibiting its activity has emerged as a promising strategy for developing new insecticides. Trehalase inhibitors work by preventing the enzyme from breaking down trehalose into glucose, thereby disrupting the insect's energy supply and other vital processes.

This can lead to:
Developmental abnormalities: For example, validamycin A, a trehalase inhibitor, has been shown to delay larval and pupal development and prevent flight in mosquitoes. Similarly, in fall armyworms (Spodoptera frugiperda), trehalase inhibitors (ZK-PI-5 and ZK-PI-9) significantly increased mortality during pupation and eclosion, and also resulted in molting failure, abnormal pupation, wing deformities, and an inability to break the pupa.

Reduced glucose levels (hypoglycemia): Treatment with trehalase inhibitors like validamycin A can drastically decrease glucose levels in insects.

Increased trehalose levels: Conversely, trehalose levels might increase as the enzyme responsible for its breakdown is inhibited.

Impaired flight capacity: Lack of sufficient energy from glucose can lead to reduced flight capacity, which is detrimental to pests that rely on flight for foraging and reproduction.