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ARS Home » Midwest Area » Peoria, Illinois » National Center for Agricultural Utilization Research » Crop Bioprotection Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #199655
Title: Evidence for hexosaminidase as an insect resistance factor of plants

Author
item Dowd, Patrick
item Johnson, Eric
item Pinkerton, Terrence

Submitted to: National Entomological Society of America Annual Meeting
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 12/12/2006
Publication Date: 12/10/2006
Citation: Dowd, P.F., Johnson, E.T., Pinkerton, T.S. 2006. Evidence for hexosaminidase as an insect resistance factor of plants [abstract]. National Entomological Society of America Annual Meeting. Paper No. 1063.

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: Chitin is a potential target for insect resistance mechanisms in plants, and hexosaminidase is one enzyme that can degrade chitin. Commercial preparations of a hexosaminidase caused significant mortality of neonate fall armyworm larvae at 75 ppm compared to buffer controls. When an Arabidopsis gene potentially coding for hexosaminidase was introduced into stable corn callus and two different lines of corn that were regenerated, resistance to fall armyworms was significantly enhanced compared to nonexpressing controls. Significantly higher mortality and/or reductions in growth rates occurred in several examples. Enhanced resistance in the transgenic lines appeared associated with the presence of hexosaminidase detected enzymatically with a model substrate.