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Metabolism of Nicotine by Tobacco-feeding Insects

Nature volume 204, pages 300–301 (1964)Cite this article

Abstract

RECENT experiments in this laboratory have indicated that the green peach aphid, Myzus persicae (Sulz.), avoids the nicotine in tobacco plants by selective feeding in the phloem1, whereas the tobacco hornworm, Protoparce sexta (Johan.), excretes nicotine and other ingested alkaloids before a toxic dose can accumulate2. The present communication presents evidence that in addition to the foregoing mechanisms, insects feeding on tobacco may metabolize nicotine to other alkaloids. Such pathways have been previously reported from insects3 that do not feed on tobacco and from mammals4,5. Comparative experiments on an insect which does not feed on tobacco, the house fly (Musca domestica L.), are also included.

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References

  1. Guthrie, F. E., Campbell, W. V., and Baron, R. L., Ann. Entomol. Soc. Amer., 55, 42 (1962).

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  2. Self, L. S., Guthrie, F. E., and Hodgson, E., J. Insect Phytiol. (in the press).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Entomology Department, North Carolina State of the University of North Carolina at Raleigh,

    L. S. SELF, F. E. GUTHRIE & E. HODGSON

Authors
  1. L. S. SELF
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  2. F. E. GUTHRIE
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  3. E. HODGSON
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SELF, L., GUTHRIE, F. & HODGSON, E. Metabolism of Nicotine by Tobacco-feeding Insects. Nature 204, 300–301 (1964). https://doi.org/10.1038/204300a0

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