Shulman, M.V., Pakhomov, O.Y., Brygadyrenko, V.V., 2017. Effect of lead and cadmium ions upon the pupariation and morphological changes in Calliphora vicina (Diptera, Calliphoridae). Folia Oecologica, 44: 28-37.Modelling the influence of different concentrations of lead and cadmium ions upon a laboratory culture of insects has not been adequately studied. In our research, we assessed the influence of cadmium and lead nitrates at different concentrations (10 -2 -10 -9 М) upon the development of larvae, pupae and imagines of Calliphora vicina Robineau-Desvoidy, 1830 (Diptera: Calliphoridae). We found an acceleration in the development of larvae and an increase in mass of puparia when lead ions were added to the food of the larvae, and decrease in the mass of puparia when cadmium ions were added. We registered nanism and malformation of the fly imagines in experiments with lead and cadmium in the food substrate. We observed that under the influence of the studied heavy metal ions there was a reduced motor activity of the fly larvae at all stages of development, a delay in formation of puparia and a delay in the emergence of imagines in comparison with the control group.

This study analyzed the dynamics of leaf damage, the content of easily soluble proteins, benzidine-peroxidase activity and the composition of acid enzyme isoforms in the leaves of Aesculus hippocastanum L. under the influence of the chestnut miner Cameraria ohridella Deschka et Dimić (Lepidoptera, Gracillariidae) in plantations in one of the Ukraine’s largest industrial cities Dnipro, located in the steppe zone of Ukraine. During July-August, the destruction of leaves by the pest in relatively stable horse chestnut trees increased to 13.3%, while in unstable trees it increased to 97.5%. The maximum amount of protein was found in horse chestnut leaves in July, which decreased significantly in August and correlated with the level of leaf damage by the pest. The horse chestnut leaves were characterized by a more than twofold increase in cytoplasmic peroxidase activity in cases of high level of damage to the leaves by the phytophage. These observations indicate that consumption of the leaves by C. ohridella causes oxidative stress, which leads to the activation of enzyme. The horse chestnut trees have been shown to respond specifically to the attack of C. ohridella due to changes in the activity of individual peroxidase isozymes, the expression of which varies across the spectrum. In the leaves of the horse chestnut trees with a high level of damage by miner, the expression of enzyme isoforms in the pH range of 4.08–4.15 is significantly activated, which can be considered as a reliable biochemical marker of plant sensitivity of Ae. hippocastanum to phytophagous attack by C. ohridella. However, increase in the degree of phytophage invasion does not change the activity of isoperoxidase 4.21, and isoperoxidase with pI 4.25, 4.42 and 4.58 correspond to a decrease in activity compared with relatively resistant Ae. hippocastanum plants. We noted that the high total activity of peroxidase, as well as active adjustments in the spectrum of the peroxidase system, obviously, contribute to maintaining the functional integrity of the photosynthetic system of leaves of Ae. hippocastanum under the influence of the chestnut miner C. ohridella by neutralizing reactive oxygen species.

The paper presents the results on resistance of Aesculus hippocastanum Linnaeus, 1753 trees to Cameraria ohridella Deschka & Dimić, 1986 (Lepidoptera, Gracillariidae) impact under conditions of a modern urban environment on the example of Dnipro city as the largest industrial city in Ukraine. Field experiments were conducted in all park areas of the city, which allowed covering the full gradient of the existing urban environment and considered the different degrees of the tree settlement by the invasive insect species. The research of the impact of C. ohridella caterpillars’ vital activity on the photosynthetic apparatus state was carried out by applying a chlorophyll fluorescence induction technique. Diagnosis of photosynthetic dysfunction of fresh Ae. hippocastanum leaves was conducted using a portable “Floratest” fluorometer manufactured in Ukraine. Interpretation of the obtained Kautsky curves showed that significant changes in their critical parameters associated with the degree of leaf damage by C. ohridella caterpillars were not detected. The influence of tree growth site conditions on the following 4 main indicators of chlorophyll fluorescence induction was established: the initial value of fluorescence induction after irradiation; the value of “plateau” fluorescence induction; the maximum value of fluorescence induction; the stationary value of fluorescence induction after light adaptation of the plant leaf. It was found that the efficiency coefficients of photochemical processes in Ae. hippocastanum trees growing in low terrain levels differed significantly, which can probably be interpreted as their response to the specific characteristics of the urban environment.

The complex of invasive species of phytophagous insects that can adapt to novel living conditions is constantly increasing. The ecological effect of their vital activity in the new environment is almost impossible to predict. As a result, invasions undesirable in the economic sense are often observed. The horse -chestnut leaf miner (Cameraria ohridella Deschka & Dimič, 1986, Gracillariidae) is one of these problematic invader species in the introduced range of the horse chestnut (Aesculus hippocastanum (Linnaeus, 1753), Sapindaceae). We studied the effect of C. ohridella on the state of the photosynthetic apparatus in Ae. hippocastanum leaves. Photosynthesis is the one of the processes most vulnerable to stress factors, so information about the state of photosynthetic apparatus in a plant under the influence of phytophage feeding obtained with fluorescence analysis can be significant. The feeding effect of C. ohridella caterpillars on the functional state and activity of Ae. hippocastanum photosynthetic apparatus was studied. We studied critical parameters of chlorophyll fluorescence induction reflecting the effect of a single C. ohridella generation (feeding the caterpillar for the five stages of this species’ development) on the functional links of the photosystem II in Ae. hippocastanum leaves. The data obtained show a decrease in PS II quantum efficiency (inhibition of photosynthetic activity) in the leaves from different parts of the crown; it suggests the destructive effect of C. ohridella caterpillar feeding on Ae. hippocastanum photosynthetic apparatus. Values of all key parameters of chlorophyll fluorescence indication evidence inhibition of photophysical and photochemical processes of photosynthesis and impaired coherence of Calvin cycle reactions. Study of the feeding effect of C. ohridella caterpillars on the efficiency of the main enzyme in the Calvin cycle (which closely correlates with the coefficient of fluorescence induction that characterizes the efficiency of dark photosynthetic processes) showed a significant decrease in its activity in the leaves of both the illuminated and shaded parts of the crown. Our study has shown that the method of chlorophyll fluorescence induction allows one to determine the general state of a plant in an express regime by evaluating the main process of plant life as photosynthesis. Analysis of chlorophyll fluorescence parameters is a powerful and effective tool for determining the effect of phytophages on the plant body. The obtained data allow us to apply the method of analyzing chlorophyll fluorescence induction in practice to establish the physiological state of tree flora in forests and garden farms.

Іn recent times R. pseudoacacia has been suffering from populations of new pests, which cause serious economic damage to this strategic species. Therefore, studying the features of plant defense responses against harmful insects is of great importance for biodiversity conservation for preserving this species in natural and artificial plantings. The aim of the study was to analyze the peculiarities of the activity and isoenzyme composition of peroxidase in R. pseudoacacia leaves during attacks by the invading insect P. robiniella. In the green plantations of Dnipro city, as the object of research, six groups of Robinia pseudoacacia L. model trees of different ages (5 and 35–40 years of age) with the existing leaf damages by P. robiniella leaf blotch miner were identified. Differences in benzidine-peroxidase activity were found in the leaves of 5- and 40-year-old R. pseudoacacia trees. In 35‒40-year-old trees with the presence of leaf blotch mi­ners, the leaves showed a tendency to increase BPOD activity by 24.6% vs control. While in young plants, a significant increase in peroxidase activity was found by 3.8 times due to mechanical damage of the leaves by the miner compared to the control. The revealed significant increase (by 63.2%) in the activity of guaiacol-peroxidase of black locust indicates its active participation in enhancing the barrier functions of leaf cells against P. robiniella, and it indicates the promising use of the enzyme as a biomarker for pest influence. The composition of benzidine-peroxidase isoenzymes was analyzed by electrofocusing. The main pattern of changes in the expressiveness of benzidine-peroxidase due to damage of leaves by a pest was a quantitative redistribution of activity between different molecular forms of peroxidase. Several enzyme isoforms from the highly acidic pH zone showed a significant activity increase in R. pseudoacacia leaves damaged by P. robiniella; this especially applies to the peroxidase system of young black locust plants. The increase in bensidine- and guajacol-peroxidase activity under the influence of leaf miner may be explained by a change in the gene expression of individual isoforms of peroxidases, which is confirmed by the results of studying the relative share of peroxidase molecular forms with isoelectrofocusing. Calculation of the internal diversity index (KD) of IEF benzidine-peroxidase spectra showed that the studied peroxidase spectra of young and medieval trees of control and experimental samples of R. pseudoacacia leaves differ significantly in the level of complexity. Under the influence of the invader the level of complexity increased. The study of the reaction of black locust and the mechanisms of its protection against mechanical damage by phytophages with the involvement of a larger range of enzymes in further research can serve as a theoretical basis for species selection and management to restore it under biotic stress.