Roles of amino acids, protein, and fiber in leaf-feeding resistance of corn to the fall armyworm.

Abstract

The free amino acids have been shown by isolational work and choice bioassays to be more important than all other factors evaluated in defining leaf-feeding resistance of corn (Zea mays L.) to fall armyworm (FAW) [(Spodoptera frugiperda J.E. Smith)] larvae. 6-MBOA (6-methoxybenzoxazolinone) and maysin, toxins present in corn, were shown not to be significant factors for leaf-feeding resistance to first-instar FAW larvae because of their low concentrations in the whorl. Amino acid analysis showed that while the ratios of the essential amino acids in susceptible (S) and resistant (R) lines were similar, there were differences in the nonessential amino acids, particularly aspartic acid, which was higher in R lines. Also, the ratio of essential amino acids to nonessential amino acids was important, being too low in expressed whorl leaf juice (obtained from V8-V10 growth stage plants) to support larval growth, although juice was stimulatory in choice tests. The total protein content of whorls in S lines was about 15% higher than in R lines, but the significance of this difference is uncertain, because nutritional tests showed that larval growth increased with total protein only up to 12% protein. Sugars were only slightly stimulatory. Thus, the amino acids along with higher hemicellulose content of R lines, established by us earlier, appear to explain much of the basis of resistance in corn to larval leaf-feeding of the FAW.