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ARS Home » Southeast Area » Oxford, Mississippi » Natural Products Utilization Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #81061
Title: SEQUESTRATION OF PHYTOTOXINS BY PLANTS: IMPLICATIONS FOR COMMERCIAL BIOSYNTHETIC PRODUCTION

Author
item Duke, Stephen
item Duke, Mary
item Paul Jr, Rex
item Ferreira, Jorge
item Vaughn, Kevin
item SMEDA, R - 6402-20-05

Submitted to: American Chemical Society Symposium Series
Publication Type: Proceedings
Publication Acceptance Date: 6/1/1998
Publication Date: N/A
Citation: N/A

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: Plants sequester and concentrate secondary compounds for two primary reasons. First, their tissue and cellular localizations are usually related to their biological function. For example, many of the secondary products found in secretory glands covering the aerial portions of plants are involved in the interaction of the plant with insects, other herbivores, and microbes that are likely to encounter the contents of these glands in their initial interaction with the plant. Secondly, localization or sequestration can also be required due to the autotoxicity of the secondary compound. Examples are artemisinin and hypericin, both of which are highly phytotoxic compounds sequestered by the producing species in specialized structures to avoid autotoxicity. Examples of how such localizations can provide clues to biological function and how understanding biological functions might lead to commercial uses of these compounds are discussed.