Assessment of developmental abnormalities and lethality in zebrafish embryos after exposure to the bioinsecticide Pea Albumin 1 subunit b (PA1b)

Abstract: PA1b (Pea Albumin 1 subunit b) is a peptide extract from pea seeds (Pisum sativum) and more generally from legume seeds that adopts a cysteine knot fold. Its insecticidal activity against major pests in stored crops such as cereal weevils (Sitophilus sp.), mosquitoes and certain species of aphids makes it a promising bioinsecticide. Here, we test the impact of PA1b on Danio rerio (zebrafish) embryos, to evaluate developmental toxicity. Different concentrations of PA1b were used to assess developmental abnormalities and lethality of zebrafish embryos.Exposure to PA1b at concentrations 1000, 200, 120, 90 and 60 μg/ml showed no deformities in zebrafish embryos with viability ranging between 95% and 100% for all exposed embryos through 96 h. These results show that PA1b is not toxic and does not induce developmental abnormalities in vertebrates.