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Herbivory

Caterpillar saliva beats plant defences

Nature volume 416, pages 599–600 (2002)Cite this article

A new weapon emerges in the evolutionary arms race between plants and herbivores.

Abstract

Blood-feeding arthropods secrete special salivary proteins that suppress the defensive reaction they induce in their hosts1,2. This is in contrast to herbivores, which are thought to be helpless victims of plant defences elicited by their oral secretions3,4. On the basis of the finding that caterpillar regurgitant can reduce the amount of toxic nicotine released by the tobacco plant Nicotiana tabacum5, 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.

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Figure 1: Ablation of the caterpillar (Helicoverpa zea) spinneret to prevent production of saliva.
Figure 2: Effect of caterpillar saliva on induced resistance in tobacco plants (Nicotiana tabacum).

References

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Entomology, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, 72701, Arkansas, USA

    Richard O. Musser, Herb Eichenseer & Gary Ervin

  2. Department of Horticulture, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, 72701, Arkansas, USA

    Sue M. Hum-Musser & J. Brad Murphy

  3. Department of Entomology, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania, 16802, USA

    Michelle Peiffer & Gary W. Felton

Authors
  1. Richard O. Musser
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  2. Sue M. Hum-Musser
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  3. Herb Eichenseer
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  4. Michelle Peiffer
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  5. Gary Ervin
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  6. J. Brad Murphy
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  7. Gary W. Felton
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Gary W. Felton.

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Musser, R., Hum-Musser, S., Eichenseer, H. et al. Caterpillar saliva beats plant defences. Nature 416, 599–600 (2002). https://doi.org/10.1038/416599a

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