Multiple Mechanisms of Resistance in Bed Bugs: A Review

C. lectularius has attained a high global impact status due to its sudden and rampant resurgence. The complex nature of bed bugs clearly indicated that mechanisms of resistance to pesticides. Different modes of resistance (target sensitivity, penetration resistance, behavioral resistance, and metabolic resistance) with more emphasis on metabolic resistance. The resistance in bed bugs appears to be attributed towards point mutations in the nervous system genes (e.g., voltage-gated sensitive channels); differential expression of detoxification genes (e.g., cytochrome P450s and GSTs) and morphological traits such as thickened cuticle in resistant populations compared to susceptible ones. Behavioral resistance is well documented in some blood-feeding insects. However, research is scants on behavioral resistance in bed bugs. Four of the six up-regulated genes (cyp397a1, cyp6dn1, CE21331, CE3959) were at or among the most highly expressed of their respective classes, consistent with a prominent role in metabolic resistance to pyrethroid insecticides.