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Resistance of Different Host Plants and Cultivars of Cassava to the Mealybug Phenacoccus Manihoti: Effect of Infestation on Leaf Extract Composition

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Abstract

The effect of a 2-month infestation by the cassava mealybug (Phenacoccus manihoti Mat. Ferr.) on the metabolism of nitrogen (amino acids) and carbon (carbohydrates), leaf area and total dry weight of five cassava varieties (Manihot esculenta Crantz), faux-caoutchouc (a hybrid of M. esculenta and M. glaziovii Muell, Arg.), poinsettia (Euphorbia pulcherrima Wild) and talinum (Talinum triangulare Jack) was studied. Free amino acid and free sugar contents as well as relative free amino acid composition in the leaf extracts, although found to be very different from one plant to another, were not significantly modified by P. manihoti infestation, except for the total amino acid contents of the cassava variety 30M7. Variations in one particular amino acid induced by mealybug infestation were not linked to the antibiotic resistance of these plants. Infestation by the cassava mealybug did not modify the total dry weight but reduced the total leaf area although this reduction was only significant in cassava varieties 59M2, 30M7 and M’pembe, and in faux-caoutchouc. Within the genus Manihot, the reduction in leaf area was strongly correlated (r = −0.878, P ≤ 0.05) to the degree of antibiotic resistance and was coupled to an increase in the ratio of sugars to amino acids, suggesting a similarity between the effects of water stress and those of mealybug infestation.

Résumé

L’effet de l’infestation de 2 mois par la cochenille du manioc (Phenacoccus manihoti Mat. Ferr.) sur le métabolisme de l’azote (acides aminés) et du carbon (carbohydrates), sur la surface de la feuille et le poids sec total de 5 variétés de manioc (Manihot esculenta Crantz), le faux-caoutchouc (une hybride de M. esculenta et M. glaziovii Muell, Arg.), le poinsettia (Euphorbia pulcherrima Wild) et le talinum (Talinum triangulare Jack) a été étudié. Toutes ces plantes-hôtes sont caractérisées par differents degrés de résistance antibiotique envers P. manihoti. Leurs teneurs en acides aminés libres et sucres libres ainsi que la composition relative d’acides aminés libres dans les extraits des feuilles, quoique différentes d’une plante à l’autre, n’ont pas été significativement modifiées par l’infestation avec P. manihoti, excepté les teneurs en acides aminés total de la variété de manioc 30M7. Des variations chez un acide aminé particulier induites par l’infestation de la cochenille n’ont pas été liées à la résistance antibiotique de ces plantes. L’infestation par la cochenille du manioc n’a pas modifié le poids sec total mais a reduit la surface totale de feuille quoique cette réduction n’était significative que chez les variétés de manioc 59M2, 30M7 et M’pembe et chez le faux-caoutchouc. Au sein du genre Manihot, la réduction de la surface de feuille a été fortement correlée (r = −0,878, P ≤ 0,05) au degré de résistance antibiotique et a été associée à un accroissement du rapport sucres/acides aminés, suggérant une similarité entre les effets de carence d’eau et ceux de l’infestation de la cochenille.

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  1. Laboratoire d’Entomologie Agricole, B.P. 181, Brazzaville, Congo

    M. Tertuliano & B. Le Rü

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  1. M. Tertuliano
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  2. B. Le Rü
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Tertuliano, M., Le Rü, B. Resistance of Different Host Plants and Cultivars of Cassava to the Mealybug Phenacoccus Manihoti: Effect of Infestation on Leaf Extract Composition. Int J Trop Insect Sci 16, 73–81 (1995). https://doi.org/10.1017/S1742758400018348

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