Genetic Engineering Renders Plants Attractive to 'Bodyguards'

摘要

It is observed in everyday life that certain plants are able to defend themselves by means of chemicals.Their bitter or pungent taste leads to both humans and other herbivores avoiding their consumption.Chemists associate a plant's defense system with elaborate structures of toxic natural products,which stimulate developments in pharmacy,synthesis,and analytics.These compounds are readily accessible by extraction because they are mostly stored in the plant tissue.However,the full and often more subtle potential of defense reactions can only be observed if the plant is regarded in its ecological context.Upon herbivory,some plants can activate rapid transformations that result in the formation of highly repellent or toxic metabolites.Other plants are even able to recognize a threat through chemical indicators and subsequently react by the up-regulation of the de novo biosynthesis of defensive metabolites.