Compartmentalization of oxidative stress and antioxidant defense in the larval gut of Spodoptera littoralis.

Allelochemicals play important roles in the plant defense against herbivorous insects. They act as feeding deterrents, interfere with digestion and nutrient absorption, and cause production of potentially dangerous oxidative radicals. This study demonstrates that the distributions of oxidative radicals and of the antioxidant enzymes that eliminate them are compartmentalized in the digestive tract of Spodoptera littoralis larvae. Feeding on diets supplemented with the tannic acid (TA), alpha-solanine, and demissidine, respectively, did not affect the rate of food passage through the digestive tract of larvae but 1.25, 2.5, and 5% TA evoked a strong oxidative response. The amount of the superoxide anion in the foregut tissue and content increased up to 70-fold and the titer of total peroxides in the foregut content about 3-fold. This oxidative stress was associated with enhanced carbonyl content in the foregut tissue proteins, indicative of certain tissue deterioration. Extensive foregut damage was probably prevented by elevated activity of the glutathione S-transferase peroxidase. A complex antioxidant response was elicited in the midgut. The activities of superoxide dismutase and catalase increased significantly in the midgut tissue and content, and the activity of ascorbate peroxidase rose in the midgut tissue. The enzymes apparently eliminated oxidative radicals passing to midgut from the foregut with the food bolus and thereby prevented carbonylation of the midgut proteins. We postulate that the generation of oxidative radicals in the foregut and the induction of antioxidant defense in the midgut are controlled processes and that their compartmentalization is an important functional feature of the digestive tract. The glycoalkaloid alpha-solanine and the aglycone demissidine applied at 0.05 and 0.1% concentrations had no effect on any of the examined parameters.