• Korean journal of applied entomology
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• v.37 no.2
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• pp.179-185
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• 1998

The effect of physiological factors of beet armyworm, Spodoptera exigua (Hubner), on esterase variation was analyzed by comparing electrophoretic esterase isozymes. Each esterase isozyme was also characterized by substrate and inhibitor specificities. A total of 28 esterase isozymes were separated on 10% nondenaturing polycarylamide gel electrophoresis (PAGE). These isozymes were denoted from El to E28 according to cathodal migration distances. There was a variation in esterase isozymes among developmental stages. Larvae and pupae had more isozymes than did adults. Eggs had only eight isozymes. The isozymes of El and E2 were specific only in the first instar larvae. Esterases also showed variation according to different tissues. More kinds of esterase isozymes were found in epidermis and gut tissues than in hemolymph and fat body. Some isozymes were specific in epidermis (from El to E6), gut (E10, El 1, E25, E26, and E27), and hemolymph (E18). Among 10 naphthyl esters, a-naphthyl propionate was the most reactive substrate to the esterase isozymes. The isozymes were classified into cholinesterases (El0 and E24), arylesterases (E4, E9, E17, E19, E21, and E23), and carboxylesterases (the others) on the basis of inhibition by the esterase inhibitors-eserine, dichlorovos, moncrotophos, and paraoxon.