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Ecological Significance of Induction of Broad-Substrate Cytochrome P450s by Natural and Synthetic Inducers in Helicoverpa zea

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Abstract

The polyphagous corn earworm Helicoverpa zea relies on cytochrome P450 monooxygenases with broad substrate specificities to cope with the wide diversity of phytochemicals it encounters among its numerous host plants. These enzymes also contribute to the ability of this insect to tolerate toxins from sources other than its hosts, including microbial and synthetic toxins. Although upregulation of xenobiotic-metabolizing P450s in some herbivorous insects is closely linked to host plant toxins, transcriptional and/or post-transcriptional regulation of detoxification in this polyphagous species also appears to be relatively unspecialized. Reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction and metabolic analyses indicate that rare and infrequently encountered phytochemicals, as well as synthetic substances, can enhance metabolic activity in an adaptive fashion against both natural and synthetic toxins.

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Acknowledgments

We thank Allen Lawrance for assistance in rearing H. zea and Dr. Arthur Zangerl for comments on the manuscript. This work was supported in part by the University of Illinois Research Board, National 973 Project of China (2006CB100200), Natural Science Foundation of China (30670331) and Guangdong Province (039254, 04105977).

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Author notes

  1. Zhimou Wen

    Present address: Department of Entomology, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, USA

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, University of Illinois, Urbana, IL, 61801, USA

    Zhimou Wen & Mary A. Schuler

  2. Department of Entomology, University of Illinois, 320 Morrill Hall, 505 S. Goodwin, Urbana, IL, 61801-3795, USA

    Ren Sen Zeng, Guodong Niu & May R. Berenbaum

  3. Research Center for Chemical Ecology, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, 510642, People’s Republic of China

    Ren Sen Zeng

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  1. Zhimou Wen
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  2. Ren Sen Zeng
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  4. May R. Berenbaum
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  5. Mary A. Schuler
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to May R. Berenbaum.

Additional information

Wen and Zeng contributed equally.

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Wen, Z., Zeng, R.S., Niu, G. et al. Ecological Significance of Induction of Broad-Substrate Cytochrome P450s by Natural and Synthetic Inducers in Helicoverpa zea . J Chem Ecol 35, 183–189 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10886-009-9598-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10886-009-9598-4

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