L-Dopa in Legume Seeds: A Chemical Barrier to Insect Attack
- 6 July 1973
- journal article
- other
- Published by American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) in Science
- Vol. 181 (4094) , 81-82
- https://doi.org/10.1126/science.181.4094.81
Abstract
Seeds of the genus Mucuna display both a remarkable immunity to attack by seed-eating insects and an unusually high concentration of free L-dopa. When seed powders or pure L-dopa were incorporated into artificial diets and fed to southern armyworm larvae, mortality increased, and abnormal pupae and adults resulted. At higher concentrations L-dopa acted as a feeding repellent.Keywords
This publication has 13 references indexed in Scilit:
- Chemical Defence in Central American Non-Ant-AcaciasJournal of Animal Ecology, 1973
- Escape of Cassia Grandis L. Beans From Predators in Time and SpaceEcology, 1971
- l-DOPA and l-3-carboxy-6,7-dihydroxy-1,2,3,4- tetrahydroisoquinoline, a new imino acid, from seeds of Mucuna mutisianaPhytochemistry, 1971
- Detoxication Enzymes in the Guts of Caterpillars: An Evolutionary Answer to Plant Defenses?Science, 1971
- Escape of Juvenile Dioclea megacarpa (Leguminosae) Vines from Predators in a Deciduous Tropical ForestThe American Naturalist, 1971
- Allelochemics: Chemical Interactions between SpeciesScience, 1971
- Medical and Ecological Considerations of L-Dopa and 5-HTP in SeedsNature, 1971
- Effect of oak leaf tannins on larval growth of the winter moth Operophtera brumataJournal of Insect Physiology, 1968
- Physiological aspects of host specificity in the Bruchidae—IV. Developmental incompatibility of soybeans for CallosobruchusJournal of Insect Physiology, 1965
- Nutritional Factors in Insect Resistance to ChemicalsAnnual Review of Entomology, 1961