Alfalfa leaf weevil larvae and adults feeding induces physiological change in defensive enzymes of alfalfa

Abstract

When insects harm plants, they activate relevant enzyme systems for defense, and changes in enzyme activity, to a certain extent, reflect the host plant’s ability to resist insect damage. Alfalfa leaf weevils (Hypera postica Gyllenhal) are the main economic insect pest of alfalfa, which seriously affect its yield and quality. To clarify the effects of feeding induction by alfalfa leaf weevil larvae and adults on defense enzymes in alfalfa, ‘Zhongmu No. 1’ variety was used as the experimental material. Comprehensive correlation analysis and principal component analysis were used to evaluate the corresponding patterns of 12 physiological indicators of alfalfa induced by insect feeding of different densities. Results showed that after feeding induction by adult and larval alfalfa leaf weevils, total antioxidant capacity (T-AOC), malondialdehyde (MDA), phenylalanine ammonia-lyase (PAL), tyrosine ammonia lyase (TAL), lipoxygenase (LOX), chymotrypsin inhibitors (CI), trypsin inhibitor (TI), and jasmonic acid (JA) in the alfalfa leaves increased with increasing feeding time. However, activities of catalase (CAT), peroxidase (POD), superoxide dismutase (SOD) and polyphenolic oxidase (PPO) in alfalfa leaves first increased and then decreased, showing a downward trend.