Vines attached to intact leaves or those attached to insect-bitten leaves were also collected. Each mean and error bar were obtained from samples of four repeated blocks. Botanical Bulletin of Academia Sinica, Vol. The possible defense roles of high chitinase activity in leaves of sweet potato reported in this study need further elucidation. Chitinase activities in both leaves and vines of field-grown sweet potato are shown in Figure 3.
Leaves have higher chitinase activity than vines.
Insect-bitten leaves have higher chitinase activity than the controls. Vines attached to insect-bitten leaves also have higher chitinase activity than vines attached to intact leaves. Our data now suggest that chitinase activities may also be induced systematically by insect-bitting. The difference in molecular weight needs further elucidation. In summary, our preliminary results regarding chitinases in sweet potato will be helpful for further investigation of their physicochemical properties, physiological significance, and role in defense mechanisms of the sweet potato.