Effects of Cd, Zn, or Pb Stress in Populus alba berolinensis on the Antioxidant, Detoxifying, and Digestive Enzymes of Lymantria dispar.

For investigating the physiological responses of herbivores to the heavy metal-stressed woody host plants, the activities of antioxidant, detoxifying, and digestive enzymes in the gypsy moth larvae, Lymantria dispar, that were fed with different heavy metal-stressed poplar seedling (Populus alba berolinensis) leaves were studied. The heavy metal treatments included Cd-treated pot soil (1.5 mg/kg), Zn-treated pot soil (500 mg/kg), and Pb-treated pot soil (500 mg/kg), plus an untreated pot soil as the control. Our results showed that compared with the untreated control, superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase (CAT) activities in Cd or Zn treatment group were gradually suppressed with the increases of larval ages, but Pb treatment had no significant effects on SOD activities and significantly increased the CAT activities in both fourth and fifth instar larvae; acid phosphatase (ACP) activities were gradually activated and alkaline phosphatase (AKP) activities were gradually inhibited with the increases of larval ages in Cd or Pb treatment group, but Zn treatment significantly increased the activities of ACP and AKP both in fourth and in fifth instar larvae. All three heavy metals tested did not show any significant effects on the amylase and protease activity in the fourth instar larvae but increased their activities in fifth instar larvae. These results suggest that antioxidant, detoxifying, and digestive enzymes constituted the basic defense system for gypsy moth larvae to resist the toxicity originated from the accumulated Cd, Zn, or Pb in poplar leaves, but their defense level varied with metals investigated and larval developmental stages.