Comparative studies on the contents of amino acids in the diapause and non-diapause pupae of oriental tobacco budworm,Helicoverpa assulta

Contents of free amino acids in the haemolymph and bodies of prepupae, diapause and non-diapause pupae of tobacco budworm were analyzed with HPLC.The results showed that contents of free amino acids in the haemolymph of diapause pupae increased during the early days after pupation,but decreased in the haemolymph of non-diapause pupae.Contents of arginine,praline,lysine and valine were abundant in the haemolymph of diapause pupae and prepupae induced by diapause conditions,and revealed an increasing trend as the diapause developing,suggesting that these amino acids are related with cold hardiness of diapause pupae.Total contents of free amino acids in the bodies of pupae induced by diapause increased slowly,but declined rapidly in the non-diapause bodies after pupation,and increased rapidly before eclosion.