5-Aminolevulinic acid (ALA), a major photosensitivity insecticide, has attracted increasing attention as a new type of highly efficient, environmental friendly pesticide to be used to control the pest. To examine whether or not ALA acts effectively to grasshopper, Oxya chinensis and elucidate the detoxification mechanism of ALA, the susceptibility to ALA was assessed in O. chinensis and two major metabolic detoxification enzymes including glutathione S-transferases (GSTs) and general esterases (ESTs)-specific activities were compared in different development stages and different body sections
of O. chinensis treated by ALA and the control. The results showed that the ALA exhibited obvious toxicity to the grasshopper in different development stages. In the low-dose treatment (0.0597 mmol L-1), the mortalities of O. chinensis reached a significant level (55.5% in the 1st instar nymphs, 61.4% in the 2nd instar nymphs, 71.4% in the 3rd instar nymphs, and 64.4% in the 4th instar nymphs. But, there was no dose-dependent toxic effect. Thereby, we proposed that ALA has the potential for acting as photosensitivity insecticide for controlling O. chinensis. GSTs activity assays using CDNB and DCNB as substrates indicated that the thorax and abdomen of the different instar nymphs treated by ALA showed 1.52-5.56 fold significantly increased GSTs activities compared with the control. However, for the ESTs-specific activity assay, there was no significant difference between O. chinensis treated by ALA and the control within different instar nymphs, when α-NA, α-NB and β-NA were used as substrates. Therefore, GSTs-mediated metabolic detoxification
as evidenced by significantly increased GSTs activities might contribute to protect against oxidative damage and oxidative
stress by ALA in O. chinensis.

A cDNA encoding a sigma-class glutathione S-transferase of the locust, Locusta migratoria manilensis (LmGSTs1), was cloned by reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction. The 830 bp-long cDNA encoded a 615 bp open reading frame (204 amino acid polypeptide), which exhibited the structural motif and domain organization characteristic of GST sigmaclass. It revealed 59, 57, 57, and 56% identities to sigma-class GSTs from Blattella germanica, Gryllotalpa orientalis, Nasonia vitripennis, and Pediculus humanus corporis, respectively. A recombinant protein (LmGSTs1) was functionally expressed in Escherichia coli cells in a soluble form and purified to homogeneity. LmGSTs1 was able to catalyze the biotranslation of glutathione with 1-chloro-2,4-dinitrobenzene, a model substrate for GSTs, as well as with p-nitro-benzyl chloride. Its optimal activity was observed at pH 8.0 and at 30°C. Incubation for 30 min at temperatures below 50°C scarcely affected the activity. The I50 of reactive blue (RB) was 18.5 μmol L-1. In the presence of 0.05 mmol L-1 ethacrynic acid (ECA), LmGSTs1 showed (81±3)% of the original activities.