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Herbivorous insect infestations are a serious problem that threatens the plants. To cope with this issue, plants utilize various defense mechanisms. Malacosoma neustria L. (the lackey moth) (Lepidoptera: Lasiocampidae), which causes significant damage by feeding on many shrub-like and woody plants during its larval stage, is a worldwide pest. Sea buckthorn, Elaeagnus rhamnoides L. (Rosales: Elaeagnaceae), which has economic, ecological, and medicinal importance, is one of the plants most preferred by this insect. The changes in the amounts of secondary compounds, fresh and dry weights, the levels of chlorophyll a, chlorophyll b, and total chlorophyll, the contents of total protein, the contents of malondialdehyde (MDA), the activities of ascorbate peroxidase (APX), superoxide dismutase (SOD), and catalase (CAT) in leaves of the M. neustria-infested and non-infested E. rhamnoides were compared in this study. The leaves of E. rhamnoides were collected from the Kızılırmak Delta in Samsun Province, Turkey. The moth-infested and non-infested leaves constituted experimental groups. As a result, it was determined that the fresh weight and the content of protein in the lackey moth-infested leaves decreased. In contrast, the levels of total chlorophyll, chlorophyll a, and chlorophyll b, the content of MDA, the activities of SOD, CAT, and APX increased. Additionally, it was found that both the amount and composition of secondary compounds differ between the moth-infested and non-infested leaves. In conclusion, our findings indicate that E. rhamnoides defends itself against M. neustria infestation, which is a biotic stress factor, through both ROS-scavenging enzymes and its secondary compounds..
Leblebici et al. (Mon,) studied this question.