EFFECT OF THE FUNGAL PATHOGEN, BEAUVERIA-BASSIANA, ON THE LYSOZYME ACTIVITY IN SPODOPTERA-EXIGUA LARVAE

The beet armyworm, Spodoptera exigua, injected with the bacterial endo toxin (LPS), can be induced to produce relatively high titer (approx. 1 mg lysozyme/ml) of lysozyme activity. This enzyme, like other insect lysozyme is heat stable under acid conditions and has a M(r) of 15 kD a. Infection of S. exigua by Beauveria Bassiana, disrupts the host cel lular defense but does not induce lysozyme activity nor interfere with the ability of S. exigua to synthesize lysozyme in response to LPS ch allenge. The S. exigua humoral components induced by LPS challenge, al though possessing antibacterial activity, do not have any observable e ffect on the in vivo development of B. bassiana.