Screening and potent applicability analysis of commonly used pesticides against Schistocerca gregaria and Locusta migratoria: an integrative computational approach

The migratory locust is global problem and a threat to food security for their large-scale devastation to the diversified agro-ecosystem. GIS-based analysis found recent locust movement, with Schistocerca gregaria and Locusta migratoria being the most common and destructive species in the Indian subcontinent. To save the human species from starvation, this destructive species must be halted. In this study, we evaluated some commonly used agricultural pesticides against S. gregaria lipid-binding protein and muscle fatty acid-binding protein, as well as L. migratoria fatty acid-binding protein from flight muscle and odorant binding protein, and three pesticides, i.e., biphenthrin, diafenthiuron, and silafluofen showed maximum binding affinity with all key proteins in terms of lowest global binding energy. Our phylogenetic analysis demonstrates that these three pesticides are likely to be effective against other locust species, and they are also far safer than other currently used pesticides. These proposed pesticide’s bioactive analogs from fungus and bacteria may also show efficacy as next-generation controlling measures of locust as well as different kind of pests. These pesticides are projected to be particularly effective against locusts, and they will need to be brought forward by entomologists and plant biotechnologists through field experiments. Graphical abstract