title: Herbivory: caterpillar saliva beats plant defences.
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.
authors.affiliation: Department of Entomology, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, Arkansas 72701, USA.
authors.forename: Richard O
authors.initials: RO
authors.lastname: Musser
authors.forename: Sue M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Hum-Musser
authors.forename: Herb
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Eichenseer
authors.forename: Michelle
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Peiffer
authors.forename: Gary
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Ervin
authors.forename: J Brad
authors.initials: JB
authors.lastname: Murphy
authors.forename: Gary W
authors.initials: GW
authors.lastname: Felton
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002080:Butterflies / Q000201:enzymology / Q000254:growth & development / Q000502:physiology*; D005949:Glucose Oxidase / Q000378:metabolism; D006790:Host-Parasite Interactions; D007814:Larva / Q000201:enzymology / Q000502:physiology*; D009538:Nicotine / Q000378:metabolism; D018515:Plant Leaves / Q000378:metabolism / Q000469:parasitology; D012463:Saliva / Q000201:enzymology / Q000502:physiology*; D014026:Nicotiana / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000469:parasitology*
chemical_list: D009538:Nicotine; D005949:Glucose Oxidase