When attacking crucifers, the sap-sucking whitefly Bemisia tabaci can activate the chemical defenses of these plants. In a new study, an international team of researchers demonstrated that the pest is able to render a large proportion of the plant toxins harmless by binding surplus sugar to them. The whitefly thus deploys a completely new and until now undescribed detoxification mechanism to defuse the plants’ defenses, which could explain the success of this major agricultural pest. The study is published in Nature Chemical Biology.
Click here for original story, Surplus sugar helps whiteflies detoxify plant defenses
Source: Phys.org