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Phenol Contents, Oxidase Activities, and the Resistance of Coffee to the Leaf Miner Leucoptera coffeella

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Abstract

We examined the role of phenolic compounds, and the enzymes peroxidase and polyphenol oxidase, in the expression of resistance of coffee plants to Leucoptera coffeella (Lepidoptera: Lyonetiidae). The concentrations of total soluble phenols and chlorogenic acid (5-caffeoylquinic acid), and the activities of the oxidative enzymes peroxidase (POD) and polyphenol oxidase (PPO), were estimated in leaves of Coffea arabica, C. racemosa, and progenies of crosses between these species, which have different levels of resistance, before and after attack by this insect. The results indicate that phenols do not play a central role in resistance to the coffee leaf miner. Differences were detected between the parental species in terms of total soluble phenol concentrations and activities of the oxidative enzymes. However, resistant and susceptible hybrid plants did not differ in any of these characteristics. Significant induction of chlorogenic acid and PPO was only found in C. racemosa, the parental donator of the resistance genes against L. coffeella. High-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) analysis also showed qualitative similarity between hybrids and the susceptible C. arabica. These results suggest that the phenolic content and activities of POD and PPO in response to the attack by the leaf miner may not be a strong evidence of their participation in direct defensive mechanisms.

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Acknowledgments

This study was partially financed by the Consórcio Brasileiro de Pesquisa e Desenvolvimento do Café. D.A.R. and P.M. thank CAPES and CNPq-Brasil for research fellowships. The authors thank Geraldo A. Melo for technical assistance with enzymes and HPLC analyses.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Centro de Café ‘Alcides Carvalho,’, Instituto Agronômico (IAC), CP 28, 13.020-902, Campinas, SP, Brazil

    Daniel Alves Ramiro & Oliveiro Guerreiro-Filho

  2. Departamento de Fisiologia Vegetal, Instituto de Biologia, CP 6109, Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP), 13.083-970, Campinas, SP, Brazil

    Paulo Mazzafera

Authors
  1. Daniel Alves Ramiro
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  2. Oliveiro Guerreiro-Filho
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  3. Paulo Mazzafera
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Correspondence to Oliveiro Guerreiro-Filho.

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Ramiro, D.A., Guerreiro-Filho, O. & Mazzafera, P. Phenol Contents, Oxidase Activities, and the Resistance of Coffee to the Leaf Miner Leucoptera coffeella . J Chem Ecol 32, 1977–1988 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10886-006-9122-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10886-006-9122-z

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