Detoxification of L-canavanine by the tobacco budworm, Heliothis virescens (Noctuidae)

Journal Article · Thu Nov 01 00:00:00 EST 1990 · Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry; (USA)

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1021/jf00101a013· OSTI ID:5945391

Berge, M A; Rosenthal, G A ^[1]

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1. Univ. of Kentucky, Lexington (USA)

The detoxification of L-canavanine and the ability of this natural product to induce a protein able to detoxify it were investigated in the tobacco budworm, Heliothis virescens. The available evidence indicates that this detoxification mechanism is part of larval constitutive metabolism and not induced in response to canavanine. H. virescens larvae, administered 5 mg/g L-canavanine supplemented with 37.7 kBq L-(guanidinooxy-{sup 14}C)canavanine, were sacrificied 0, 1, 2, 4, 6, and 12 h postinjection. The principle products of L-canavanine degradation were ({sup 14}C)guanidine and ({sup 14}C)urea. Homoserine formation was confirmed by automated amino acid analysis. This study demonstrates that the principal detoxification pathway for L-canavanine in H. virescens larvae is by reductive cleavage to guanidine and L-homoserine.

• OSTI ID: 5945391
• Journal Information: Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry; (USA), Vol. 38:11; ISSN 0021-8561
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
INSECTICIDES
DETOXIFICATION
LARVAE
METABOLISM
AMINO ACIDS
BIOLOGICAL PATHWAYS
CARBON 14 COMPOUNDS
MOTHS
TOLERANCE
TRACER TECHNIQUES
ANIMALS
ARTHROPODS
CARBOXYLIC ACIDS
INSECTS
INVERTEBRATES
ISOTOPE APPLICATIONS
LABELLED COMPOUNDS
LEPIDOPTERA
ORGANIC ACIDS
ORGANIC COMPOUNDS
PESTICIDES
550501* - Metabolism- Tracer Techniques