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Science 11 August 1978:
Vol. 201. no. 4355, pp. 532 - 534
DOI: 10.1126/science.201.4355.532
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Articles

Toxicity of a Furanocoumarin to Armyworms: A Case of Biosynthetic Escape from Insect Herbivores

MAY BERENBAUM 1

1 Section of Ecology and Systematics, 110 Insectary, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York 14853

When the linear furanocoumarin xanthotoxin, found in many plants of the families Rutaceae and Umbelliferae, was administered to larvae of Spodoptera eridania, a generalist insect herbivore, it displayed toxic properties lacking in its biosynthetic precursor umbelliferone. Reduced toxicity observed in the absence of ultraviolet light is consistent with the known mechanism of photoinactivation of DNA by furanocoumarins through ultraviolet-catalyzed cross-linkage of strands. Thus, the ability of a plant to convert umbelliferone to linear furanocoumarins appears to confer broader protection against insect herbivores.

Submitted on March 28, 1978
Revised on May 24, 1978


THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN CITED BY OTHER ARTICLES:
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R. J. MARQUIS (1984)
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Metabolic Detoxification: Mechanism of Insect Resistance to Plant Psoralens.
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Natural toxicants in human foods: psoralens in raw and cooked parsnip root.
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Toxicity of Angular Furanocoumarins to Swallowtail Butterflies: Escalation in a Coevolutionary Arms Race?.
M. BERENBAUM and P. FEENY (1981)
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Science. ISSN 0036-8075 (print), 1095-9203 (online)