Abstract
Monarch butterfly larvae were examined for NADPH-dependent monooxygenase activities. Midgut and fat body homogenates catalyzed aldrin epoxidation andp-chloro-N-methylanilineN-demethylation at consistently low rates compared to many other lepidopteran larvae. Homogenates from larvae collected from four different milkweeds (Asclepias spp.) with quite different cardenolide contents had similar levels of activity. There were no detectable variations in activity due to season or year of collection.
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Research supported in part by a National Science Foundation grant DEB 7514266 and the Agricultural Experiment Station, University of California, Davis, California 95616.
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Marty, M.A., Gee, S.J. & Krieger, R.I. Monooxygenase activities of fat body and gut homogenates of monarch butterfly larvae,Danaus plexippus, fed four cardenolide-containing milkweeds,Asclepias spp.. J Chem Ecol 8, 797–805 (1982). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00988320
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00988320