Reassessment of the roles of the peritrophic envelope and hydrolysis in protecting polyphagous grasshoppers from ingested hydrolyzable tannins

We examined several of the mechanisms that have been reported to enable polyphagous grasshoppers (Orthoptera: Acrididae) to tolerate ingested hydrolyzable tannins: hydrolysis, adsorption on the peritrophic envelope, and peritrophic envelope impermeability. None of these mechanisms explain the tolerance of Melanoplus sanguinipes to ingested tannic acid. In this species, tannin hydrolysis was 12-47% complete, adsorption accounted for less than 1% of the tannic acid contained in the midgut, and the peritrophic envelope was permeated by several gallotannins. The foregut is the main site for the chemical transformation of tannic acid in this species. In Phoetaliotes nebrascensis, hydrolysis was more extensive (82% complete), but the peritrophic envelope was readily permeated by two gallotannins. Oxidizing redox conditions were found in the guts of both species, and ingested tannins were oxidized in M. sanguinipes. We hypothesize that the tolerance of some polyphagous grasshoppers to ingested hydrolyzable tannins may be the consequence of their ability to tolerate the reactive oxygen species generated by polyphenol oxidation, whereas others may rely on rapid and extensive hydrolysis.