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Effect of soybean phytoalexins on the herbivorous insects mexican bean beetle and soybean looper

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Abstract

Effects of soybean phytoalexins on the feeding of the soybean looper and Mexican bean beetle were investigated to test the hypothesis that phytoalexins might be a defense mechanism of plants against insects as well as against pathogens. Short-term behavioral responses to the phytoalexins were analyzed using dual-choice tests with phytoalexin-rich and phytoalexin-poor (control) tissues. Phytoalexin production was elicited with ultraviolet radiation. Results from the dual-choice tests indicated that 6th instar soybean looper larvae fed equally on the control and phytoalexin-rich tissues. Feeding by adult and 4th instar Mexican bean beetles, however, was strongly deterred by the phytoalexins as evidenced by “single-bite” mandible scars on the phytoalexin-rich cotyledon discs. Nutritional effects of the isoflavonoid phytoalexin glyceollin on early instar soybean looper larvae were tested by incorporating the phytoalexin into an artificial medium at a level of 1% dry weight (0.15% fresh weight). The larvae were reared for 7 days from emergence on diets of control and glyceollin-containing media. Although survival on the glyceollin diets was initially less than on the control diets, under the experimental conditions glyceollin had no significant effect on the growth, development, or subsequent survival of the larvae. Efficiency of food utilization (ECI) was reduced, indicating that the phytoalexins may be a mild digestibility-reducing factor for the loopers. Implications of the results for host-plant resistance are discussed.

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  1. Suzanne V. Hart

    Present address: Department of Crop Science, North Carolina State University, 27607, Raleigh, North Carolina

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Illinois Natural History Survey and University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, USA

    Suzanne V. Hart, Marcos Kogan & Jack D. Paxton

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Additional information

Mexican bean beetle=Epilachna varivestis Mulsant, (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae); soybean looper=Pseudoplusia includens (Walker), (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae).

This publication is a contribution of the State Natural History Survey and Illinois Agricultural Experiment Station, College of Agriculture, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Research was supported in part by the USDA competitive grant 800235 “Role of phytoalexins in soybean resistance to insects,” the State Agricultural Experiment Station Regional project S-74 (IL 120320), and the US-EPA through a grant, CR-806277-02-0, to Texas A & M University. The opinions expressed herein are those of the authors and not necessarily those of the supporting institutions or agencies.

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Hart, S.V., Kogan, M. & Paxton, J.D. Effect of soybean phytoalexins on the herbivorous insects mexican bean beetle and soybean looper. J Chem Ecol 9, 657–672 (1983). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00988774

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