TY - JOUR
T1 - Toxicity of a furanocoumarin to armyworms
T2 - A case of biosynthetic escape from insect herbivores
AU - Berenbaum, May
PY - 1978
Y1 - 1978
N2 - 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.
AB - 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.
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U2 - 10.1126/science.201.4355.532
DO - 10.1126/science.201.4355.532
M3 - Article
C2 - 17790440
AN - SCOPUS:0018190704
SN - 0036-8075
VL - 201
SP - 532
EP - 534
JO - Science
JF - Science
IS - 4355
ER -