Insect Digestive Enzyme Activates Sugar-Containing Plant Defense Substance
Published:22 Nov.2021 Source:University of Münster
Plants are not entirely at the mercy of their herbivore enemies. Often, chemical defences ensure that the plants are inedible, or even toxic, and as a result insects and other hungry animals steer clear of them. A new study has shown, for the first time, that the degradation of plants' defence substances by insects' digestive enzymes can influence the insects' preference for certain food plants.
Researchers at the University of Münster, the University of Bern (Switzerland) and the Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology in Jena investigated this phenomenon in the larvae of cockchafers (Melolontha melolontha) and the plant they feed on, dandelion (Taraxacum officinale).