Biological and Biochemical Bases of Pesticides Resistance in Rhipicephalus (Boophilus) microplus

Abstract

Several arthropod species are important vectors of pathogens that cause disease in hu‐ mans, animals, and plants, including protozoa, nematodes, bacteria, and viruses. Arthro‐ pods are also pests competing with humans for food and parasitize farm animals, decreasing their productivity. Historically, arthropod pests and disease vectors affecting public health, crop yields, and livestock production have been managed through the in‐ tensive use of pesticides. The widespread use of pesticides is a major problem because most of the economically important arthropod species have developed resistance to cur‐ rently used pesticides. The impact of pesticide resistance is multifactorial and involves losses due to the heavy use of pesticides, environmental pollution, decreased profitabili‐ ty, food contamination, and public health problems due to pesticide exposure. An indi‐ rect consequence of pesticide resistance is the mortality caused by arthropod-borne diseases such as dengue and malaria in humans and babesiosis and anaplasmosis in cat‐ tle. The understanding of molecular mechanisms and adaptations to resistance in arthro‐ pods is an important issue. However, the molecular mechanisms of pesticide resistance remain to be fully understood. Understanding of resistance mechanisms will contribute significantly to improve integrated managements programs and to discover new targets for vaccine development to mitigate the effects of pesticide-resistant arthropods on agri‐ culture and public health.