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Chemical defense is a strategy employed by many organisms to avoid consumption by producing toxic or repellent metabolites or chemical warnings which incite defensive behavioral changes. [ 1 ] [ 2 ] The production of defensive chemicals occurs in plants, fungi, and bacteria, as well as invertebrate and vertebrate animals.
Plant defense against herbivory or host-plant resistance is a range of adaptations evolved by plants which improve their survival and reproduction by reducing the impact of herbivores. Many plants produce secondary metabolites, known as allelochemicals, that influence the behavior, growth, or survival of herbivores. These chemical defenses can ...
Some chemical defenses once thought to be produced by the plant have since been shown to be synthesized by endophytic fungi. The chemical basis of insect resistance in endophyte-plant defense mutualisms has been most extensively studied in the perennial ryegrass and three major classes of secondary metabolites are found: indole diterpenes, ergot alkaloids and peramine.
For example, jasmonic acid can be used to simulate an herbivore attack on plants and thus, induce plant defences. [19] The use of jasmonic acid on tomato ( Lycopersicon esculentum ) resulted in plants with fewer but larger fruits, longer ripening time, delayed fruit-set, fewer seeds per plant and fewer seeds per unit of fruit weight. [ 20 ]
Plants are able to determine what types of herbivore species are present, and will react differently given the herbivore's traits. If certain defense mechanisms are not effective, plants may turn to attracting natural enemies of herbivore populations. For example, wild tobacco plants use nicotine, a neurotoxin, to defend against herbivores ...
Plant defensins (formerly gamma-thionins) are a family of primitive, highly stable, cysteine-rich defensins found in plants that function to defend them against pathogens and parasites. [1] Defensins are integral components of the innate immune system and belong to the ancient superfamily of antimicrobial peptides (AMPs).
Exploiting plants’ defence mechanisms against pests or diseases could help to remove our reliance on toxic pesticides. Plants’ genetic defences may hold key for crop protection, researchers ...
Phytochemicals are chemicals of plant origin. [1] Phytochemicals (from Greek phyto, meaning "plant") are chemicals produced by plants through primary or secondary metabolism. [2] [3] They generally have biological activity in the plant host and play a role in plant growth or defense against competitors, pathogens, or predators. [2]