Abstract
“Polyphenol oxidase” activity, similar to that previously demonstrated in the saliva and/or salivary glands of Homoptera and various Heteroptera, was readily detectable histochemically in the salivary glands of Macrosiphum rosae. Damp filter paper probed by M. rosae and their stylet sheaths also showed oxidase activity, and the reaction with various substrates indicated that it should properly be termed a catechol oxidase (EC 1.10.3.1). The feeding activity of the rose aphid caused oxidative polymerization of catechin, catechol, l-DOPA, and dl-DOPA in sucrose diets, and of naturally occurring catechin in deproteinated tissue sap pressed from the pedicels of rose buds. Tissue sap became more acceptable to the aphids as a result of oxidation. When the rose aphid fed on stems of semi-dormant miniature rose bushes, catechin content was reduced in the immediate vicinity of colonies, but rose temporarily to higher than normal levels after the insects had been removed. When the roses were growing vigorously, however, rapid changes in tissue chemistry tended to mask this interaction.
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