Chlorbenzuron is a kind of benzoylphenylureas (BPUs), which plays a broad role in insect growth regulators (IGRs), with an inhibitory effect on chitin biosynthesis. However, BPUs how to regulate glycolysis and insect growth remains largely unclear. Here, we investigated the effects of chlorbenzuron on growth, nutritional indices, glycolysis, and carbohydrate homeostasis in Hyphantria cunea, a destructive and highly polyphagous forest pest, to elucidate the action mechanism of chlorbenzuron from the perspective of energy metabolism. The results showed that chlorbenzuron dramatically restrained the growth and nutritional indices of H. cunea larvae and resulted in lethality.

Meanwhile, we confirmed that chlorbenzuron significantly decreased carbohydrate levels, adenosine triphosphate (ATP), and pyruvic acid (PA) in H. cunea larvae. Further studies indicated that chlorbenzuron caused a significant enhancement in the enzyme activities and mRNA expressions of hexokinase (HK), phosphofructokinase (PFK), and pyruvate kinase (PK), resulting in increased glycolytic flux. Expressions of genes involved in the AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) signaling pathway were also upregulated. Moreover, chlorbenzuron had remarkable impacts on H. cunea larvae from the perspective of metabolite enrichment, including the tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle and glycolysis, indicating an energy metabolism disorder in larvae. The findings provide a novel insight into the molecular mechanism by which chlorbenzuron abnormally promotes glycolysis and eventually interferes with insect growth and nutritional indices.

氯苯脲是一种苯甲酰苯基脲 (BPUs)，在昆虫生长调节剂 (IGRs) 中具有广泛的作用，对几丁质生物合成具有抑制作用。然而，BPUs 如何调节糖酵解和昆虫生长在很大程度上仍不清楚。在这里，我们研究了氯苯脲对破坏性和高度杂食性森林害虫Hyphantria cunea的生长、营养指标、糖酵解和碳水化合物稳态的影响，以从能量代谢的角度阐明氯苯脲的作用机制。结果表明，杀虫脲显着抑制了白斑蚕幼虫的生长和营养指标，导致其致死。

同时，我们证实氯苯脲显着降低了美国斑豆幼虫的碳水化合物水平、三磷酸腺苷 (ATP) 和丙酮酸 (PA) 。进一步的研究表明，氯苯脲显着增强己糖激酶 (HK)、磷酸果糖激酶 (PFK) 和丙酮酸激酶 (PK) 的酶活性和 mRNA 表达，从而增加糖酵解通量。参与 AMP 活化蛋白激酶 (AMPK) 信号通路的基因表达也被上调。此外，氯苯脲对H. cunea有显着影响从代谢物富集的角度来看，包括三羧酸（TCA）循环和糖酵解，表明幼体能量代谢紊乱。这些发现为氯苯脲异常促进糖酵解并最终干扰昆虫生长和营养指标的分子机制提供了新的见解。