The Effects of some metal ions in some plants on the survival and some ？mmune enzymes of Malacosoma neustria larvae infected by Bacillus thuringiensis subsp. kurstaki

In this study, Malacosoma neustria larvae infected by Bacillus thuringiensis subsp. kurstaki were fed with 4 different types of plant species, Elaeagnus rhamnoides, Quercus cerris, Coryllus maxima and Crataegus monogyna, in order to see the effects of chromium, nickel, copper and zinc heavy metal ions in plants on the survival and the immune enzymes of these larvae. The larvae fed the C. monogyna plant with the highest zinc content had the lowest survival rate. In the infected groups, the catalase enzyme activity was the highest in larvae fed with the Q. cerris plant, which has a high chromium content, and the lowest in the larvae fed with E. rhamnoides. In the larvae fed with the highest copper-containing Q. cerris plant, the catalase enzyme was higher than the larvae fed with other plants. The larvae fed with C. monogyna with the highest zinc content had the highest glutathione peroxidase activity. The lowest glutathione peroxidase activity was found in the larvae fed with E. rhamnoides having low zinc content. Superoxide dismutase activity was the highest in the infected larvae fed with the highest zinc containing C. monogyna. The highest number of hemocytes were found in the larvae fed with E. rhamnoides containing high amounts of nickel and copper, while the lowest hemocyte count was found in larvae fed with C. monogyna plant, where the amount of nickel and copper was the lowest