| Title: | Herbivory: caterpillar saliva beats plant defences |
| Author(s): | Musser RO; Hum-Musser SM; Eichenseer H; Peiffer M; Ervin G; Murphy JB; Felton GW; |
| Address: | "Department of Entomology, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, Arkansas 72701, USA" |
| ISSN/ISBN: | 0028-0836 (Print) 0028-0836 (Linking) |
| Abstract: | "Blood-feeding arthropods secrete special salivary proteins that suppress the defensive reaction they induce in their hosts. This is in contrast to herbivores, which are thought to be helpless victims of plant defences elicited by their oral secretions. On the basis of the finding that caterpillar regurgitant can reduce the amount of toxic nicotine released by the tobacco plant Nicotiana tabacum, we investigate here whether specific salivary components from the caterpillar Helicoverpa zea might be responsible for this suppression. We find that the enzyme glucose oxidase counteracts the production of nicotine induced by the caterpillar feeding on the plant" |
| Keywords: | Animals Butterflies/enzymology/growth & development/*physiology Glucose Oxidase/metabolism Host-Parasite Interactions Larva/enzymology/*physiology Nicotine/metabolism Plant Leaves/metabolism/parasitology Saliva/enzymology/*physiology Tobacco/*metabolism/*; |
| Notes: | "MedlineMusser, Richard O Hum-Musser, Sue M Eichenseer, Herb Peiffer, Michelle Ervin, Gary Murphy, J Brad Felton, Gary W eng England 2002/04/12 Nature. 2002 Apr 11; 416(6881):599-600. doi: 10.1038/416599a" |
