In recent years, intensive studies have been carried out on the management of agricultural insect pests using botanical insecticides in order to decrease the associated environmental hazards. Many studies have tested and characterized the toxic action of plant extracts. Four plant extracts (Justicia adhatoda, Ipomea carnea, Pongamia glabra, and Annona squamosa) containing silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) were studied for their effects on Phenacoccus solenopsis Tinsley (Hemiptera: Pseudococcidae) using the leaf dip method. The effects were estimated based on assays of hydrolytic enzyme (amylase, protease, lipase, acid phosphatase, glycosidase, trehalase, phospholipase A2, and invertase) and detoxification enzyme (esterase and lactate dehydrogenase) levels; macromolecular content (total body protein, carbohydrate, and lipid); and protein profile. The results show that the total body of P. solenopsis contains trypsin, pepsin, invertase, lipase, and amylase, whereas J. adathoda and I. carnea aqueous extracts considerably decreased the protease and phospholipase A2 levels, and A. squamosa aqueous extract dramatically increased the trehalase level in a dose-dependent manner. The enzyme levels were dramatically decreased by P. glabura-AgNPs (invertase, protease, trehalase, lipase, and phospholipase A2); I. carnea-AgNPs (invertase, lipase, and phospholipase A2); A. squamosa-AgNPs (protease, phospholipase A2); and J. adathoda-AgNPs (protease, lipase, and acid phosphatase). Plant extracts and their AgNPs significantly reduced P. solenopsis esterase and lactate dehydrogenase levels in a dose-dependent manner. At higher concentrations (10%), all of the investigated plants and their AgNPs consistently decreased the total body carbohydrate, protein, and fat levels. It is clear that the plant extracts, either crude or together with AgNPs, may result in the insects having inadequate nutritional capacity, which will impact on all critical actions of the affected hydrolytic and detoxication enzymes.

Novel antifungal drugs are urgently needed to treat candidiasis caused by the emerging fungal multidrug-resistant pathogen Candida auris. In this study, the most cost-effective drug repurposing technology was adopted to identify an appropriate option among the 1615 clinically approved drugs with anti-C. auris activity. High-throughput virtual screening of 1,3-beta-glucanosyltransferase inhibitors was conducted, followed by an analysis of the stability of 1,3-beta-glucanosyltransferase drug complexes and 1,3-beta-glucanosyltransferase–dutasteride metabolite interactions and the confirmation of their activity in biofilm formation and planktonic growth. The analysis identified dutasteride, a drug with no prior antifungal indications, as a potential medication for anti-auris activity in seven clinical C. auris isolates from Saudi Arabian patients. Dutasteride was effective at inhibiting biofilm formation by C. auris while also causing a significant reduction in planktonic growth. Dutasteride treatment resulted in disruption of the cell membrane, the lysis of cells, and crushed surfaces on C. auris, and significant (p-value = 0.0057) shrinkage in the length of C. auris was noted at 100,000×. In conclusion, the use of repurposed dutasteride with anti-C. auris potential can enable rapid recovery in patients with difficult-to-treat candidiasis caused by C. auris and reduce the transmission of nosocomial infection.

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The mitochondrial genome is a powerful tool for elucidating evolutionary relationships and molecular diversity in insects. In this study, mitochondrial protein-coding genes (PCGs) of Spodoptera species were comparatively analyzed to investigate nucleotide composition, strand asymmetry, and phylogenetic relationships. The results revealed a consistently high A+T content across all species, a hallmark of insect mitochondrial genomes, although the extent of this bias varied among genes. Differences in nucleotide frequencies, AT and GC skew, and codon usage patterns indicate the presence of species-specific evolutionary pressures and mutational biases. Phylogenetic analysis based on concatenated PCGs produced a well-supported topology, demonstrating that genetic divergence is congruent with evolutionary relationships. Closely related species, such as Spodoptera frugiperda and Spodoptera litura, exhibited greater similarity in mitochondrial genome composition, whereas more distantly related taxa, including Helicoverpa species, showed increased divergence. Variation in branch lengths further reflects the accumulation of mutations over evolutionary time. These findings underscore the utility of mitochondrial genome analysis in reconstructing evolutionary histories and identifying lineage-specific molecular adaptations. Overall, this study provides valuable insights into mitochondrial genome evolution within Spodoptera and highlights the relevance of comparative mitogenomics in improving molecular systematics and pest management strategies in Lepidoptera.

The genus Acanthaspis (Heteroptera: Reduviidae) contains ecologically significant predatory assassin bugs noted for their complex camouflage behaviours and potential as biological control agents. Despite their importance, the evolutionary relationships within this genus remain poorly understood due to limited genomic data and morphological convergence. Mitochondrial ribosomal RNAs (rrnS and rrnL) offer a balance of conserved and variable regions, making them ideal markers for resolving lower-taxonomic relationships. The current study performed a comparative mitochondrial ribosomal RNAs analysis of Acanthaspis pedestris, A. cinctricus and A. ruficeps. Ribosomal RNA sequences were retrieved from RefSeq, aligned using the MAFFT G-INS-i algorithm and analysed for nucleotide composition, strand asymmetry and sequence conservation. Phylogenetic trees were reconstructed using the Neighbor-Joining method with the Jukes–Cantor (JC69) substitution model to evaluate gene-specific evolutionary signals. Both rRNA genes exhibited A+T bias (70.93%–72.26% for rrnS; 73.80%–76.19% for rrnL), negative AT skews and positive GC skews. High conservation rates were observed in rrnS (93.62%) and rrnL (92.68%) showed slightly higher sequence divergence. The phylogenetic reconstruction revealed different branching patterns, rrnS placed A. ruficeps and A. cinctricus as sister taxa, whereas rrnL grouped A. pedestris with A. ruficeps. These findings confirm that while mitochondrial rRNAs are structurally stable in Acanthaspis, they capture distinct evolutionary signals. This difference in branching patterns reveals the limitations of single-gene mitochondrial phylogenetic analysis and highlights the necessity of multi-locus or integrative phylogenetic approaches to resolve the complex systematics of the Reduviinae subfamily. These results provide a foundational framework for future genomic investigations into the diversification of predatory Hemiptera.