Drosophila acetylcholinesterase: characterization of different mutants resistant to insecticides.

Selection of field populations originating from several countries allowed us to isolate 13 strains of Drosophila melanogaster resistant to parathion. In vitro studies of acetylcholinesterase inhibition by paraoxon have been carried out on purified enzymes: most of the resistant strains harbor an altered acetylcholinesterase. Enzymes with higher resistance levels have been characterized with respect to their cross-resistance toward several insecticides. The patterns obtained have permitted us to group them and to delineate four categories. The existence of four distinct types of protein suggests that several mutations of acetylcholinesterase are responsible for insecticide resistance in Drosophila.