Proteinase Inhibitors in the Nonvenomous Defensive Secretion of Grasshoppers: Antiproteolytic Range and Possible Significance

The defensive secretion produced in the metathoracic tracheal glands of the grasshoppers, Romalea guttata and Taeniopoda eques, contains a diversity of proteinase inhibitors. The exudate contains inhibitors of trypsin, chymotrypsin, cathepsin G, papain and pancreatic and leukocyte elastases. The inh...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology Part B: Biochemistry and Molecular Biology 1997-08, Vol.117 (4), p.525-529
Main Authors: Polanowski, Antoni, Blum, Murray S, Whitman, D.W, Travis, James
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
fungicides
grasshopper
hemolymph
Proteinase inhibitors
Romalea guttata
secretion
Taeniopoda eques
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Summary:The defensive secretion produced in the metathoracic tracheal glands of the grasshoppers, Romalea guttata and Taeniopoda eques, contains a diversity of proteinase inhibitors. The exudate contains inhibitors of trypsin, chymotrypsin, cathepsin G, papain and pancreatic and leukocyte elastases. The inhibitory profile of the secretion differs markedly from that of the hemolymph both, in terms of antiproteolytic activities and isoinhibitor composition. We suggest that these proteinase inhibitors may constitute a complementary defense system, for example, directed against diverse entomopathogenic fungi that characteristically attack grasshoppers.
ISSN:1096-4959
1879-1107
DOI:10.1016/S0305-0491(97)00045-X