Hostname: page-component-848d4c4894-wzw2p Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-06-12T11:50:42.660Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Studies on mealybug (Planococcoides njalensis (Laing)) nutrition: a comparative analysis for the free carbohydrate and nitrogenous compounds in cocoa bark and mealybug honeydew

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 July 2009

Daniel Adomako
Affiliation:
Cocoa Research Institute, P.O. Box 8, New Tafo, Ghana

Extract

To obtain dietary information for the laboratory rearing of Planococcoides njalensis (Laing) the bark tissue of cocoa shoots and mealybug honeydew were analysed for their free sugar and amino acid contents. Paper chromatographic analysis showed the bark tissue to contain mainly sucrose, with smaller amounts of glucose, fructose and raffinose. The proportions of sucrose and glucose+fructose in the honeydew were 24–27% and 24–35%, respectively, with the bulk of the 80% ethanol fraction composed of ketose oligosaccharides. The latter compounds may result from the glycosyltransferase action of mealybug invertase which has been partially characterised. Of the free nitrogenous substances, ethanolamine, asparagine, cysteine, lysine and γ-aminobutyric acid, alanine and glutamic acid are preferentially absorbed. It is concluded that these are important mealybug metabolites, which may be supplied with small amounts of sugar in future liquid-diet trials. Their approximate physiological concentrations were estimated by a semi-quantitative method.

Type
Research Paper
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1972

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Adomako, D., Kaye, M. A. G. & Lewis, D. H. (1971). Carbohydrate metabolism in Chaetomium globosum. I. Cellular carbohydrates of resting mycelium and their changes following utilization of hexoses.—New Phytol. 70, 5159.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Adomako, D. (1967). Properties of cocoa (Theobroma cacao, L.) leaf phenolase.—Ghana J. Sd. 7, 103117.Google Scholar
Atkin, G. E. & Ferdinand, W. (1970). Accelerated amino acid analysis: studies on the use of lithium citrate buffers and the effect of n-propanol, in the analysis of physiological fluids and protein hydrolysates.—Analyt. Biochem. 38, 313329.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Auclair, J. L. & Cartier, J. J. (1963). Pea aphid: rearing on a chemically defined diet.—Science, N.Y. 142, 10681069.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Bacon, J. S. D. (1955). Methods for measuring transglycosylase activity of invertases. In Colowick, S. P. & Kaplan, N. O.Eds. Methods in enzymology 1, 258262. New York, Academic Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dixon, R. O. D. & Fowden, L. (1961). γ-aminobutyric acid metabolism in plants. 2. Metabolism in higher plants.—Ann. Bot. 25, 513530.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dubois, M., Gilles, K. A., Hamilton, J. K., Rebers, P. A. & Smith, F. (1956). Colorimetric method for determination of sugars and related substances.—Analyt. Chem. 28, 350356.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Edelman, J. (1956). The formation of oligosaccharides by enzymic transglycosylation.—Adv. Enzymol. 17, 189232.Google ScholarPubMed
Elliott, D. C. (1959). Methods for the detection of biochemical compounds on paper. In Dawson, R. M. C., Elliott, D. C., Elliott, W. H. & Jones, K. M.Eds. Data for biochemical research, 210272. Oxford, Clarenden Press.Google Scholar
Entwistle, P. F. & Longworth, J. F. (1963). The relationships between cacao viruses and their vectors: the feeding behaviour of three mealybug (Homoptera: Pseudococcidae) species.—Ann. appl. Biol. 52, 387391.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Esau, K. (1961). Plants, viruses and insects.—110 pp. Cambridge, Mass., Harvard Univ. Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Eschrich, W. (1970). Biochemistry and fine structure of phloem in relation to transport.—A. Rev. Pl. Physiol. 21, 193214.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fensom, D. S. & Davidson, H. R. (1970). Micro-injection of 14C-sucrose into single living sieve tubes of Heracleum.—Nature, Lond. 227, 857858.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Gahéry, Y. & Boistel, J. (1965). Study of some pharmacological substances which modify the electrical activity of the sixth abdominal ganglion of the cockroach, Periplaneta americana. In Treherne, J. E. & Beament, J. W. L., Eds. The physiology of the insect central nervous system. Papers from the 12th International Congress of Entomology held in London, 7378. London, Academic Press.Google Scholar
Gilmour, D. (1961). The biochemistry of insects, p. 26. New York, Academic Press.Google Scholar
Hanks, R. W. & Feldman, A. W. (1963). Comparison of free amino acids and amides in roots of healthy and Radopholus similis-infected grapefruit seedlings.—Phytopathology 53, 419422.Google Scholar
House, H. L. (1965). Insect nutrition. In Rockstein, M.Ed. The physiology of insecta, vol. 2, 769813. New York, Academic Press.Google Scholar
Kulka, R. G. (1956). Colorimetric estimation of ketopentoses and ketohexoses.—Biochem. J. 63, 542548.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
LäHdesmäki, P. (1968). The amount of γ-amino butyric acid and the activity of glutamic decarboxylase in ageing leaves.—Physiologia Pl. 21, 13221327.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Meloun, B. (1966). Electrophoretic methods of separation. In Mikes, O. & Chalmers, R. A., Eds. Handbook of chromatographic separations, p. 357. London, Van Nostrand.Google Scholar
Mittler, T. E. & Dadd, R. H. (1962). Artificial feeding and rearing of the aphid, Myzus persicae (Suizer), on a completely defined synthetic diet.—Nature, Lond. 195, 404.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Stepka, W. (1957). Identification of amino acids by paper chromatography. In Colowick, S. P. & Kaplan, N. O., Eds. Methods in enzymology, vol. 3, 504528. New York, Academic Press.Google Scholar
Thompson, J. F., Pollard, J. K. & Steward, F. C. (1953). Investigations of nitrogen compounds and nitrogen metabolism in plants. III. γ-aminobutyric acid in plants, with special reference to the potato tuber and a new procedure for isolating amino acids other than α-amino acids. Pl. Physiol., Lancaster 28, 401414.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Zimmermann, M. H. (1960). Transport in the phloem.—A. Rev. Pl. Physiol. 11, 167190.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Zimmermann, M. H. (1961). Movement of organic substances in trees.—Science N.Y. 133, 7379.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed