THE Distribution of carbon-14 in plants labelled as a source of food for red scale
1974
ROBERTSON, GILLIAN | SLOWIAK, DANUTA
Citrus leaves, banana squash and lemon fruit, labelled by photosynthesis, have been used as a source of ¹⁴C for red scale, Aonidiella aurantii (Mask.). The distribution of the isotope amongst the constituents of these plants has been studied using chemical methods of separation and chromatography. In citrus leaves, whether they were labelled as discs in the laboratory or in situ in the field, activity occurred as sucrose initially, but within 5 days a comparable amount was present in the amino acid, proline, and also in the insoluble carbohydrates, the proportions remaining fairly stable for long periods. Although the total activity of the leaf discs did not decrease with time, the activity of successive groups of newly hatched red scale larvae which fed on these discs for 10 days, fell significantly. It is suggested that due to the interaction of the insects' saliva with plant tissue, areas where red scale fed became depleted in activity. Sap obtained from the labelled discs contained activity in the form of sucrose and proline, but the body fluid from the mature female red scale contained activity in sucrose only. In banana squash and in lemons most of the activity occurred in the form of sugars, principally sucrose, with glucose taking up a greater proportion in the lemons; there was no appreciable activity in amino acids and a much smaller fraction in the insoluble carbohydrates.
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