Harborne Introduction to Ecological Biochemistry

4. Auflage 2014
ISBN: 978-0-08-091859-4
Verlag: Elsevier Science & Techn.
Format: EPUB
Kopierschutz: 6 - ePub Watermark

E-Book, Englisch, 384 Seiten

Ecological biochemistry concerns the biochemistry of interactions between animals, plants and the environment, and includes such diverse subjects as plant adaptations to soil pollutants and the effects of plant toxins on herbivores. The intriguing dependence of the Monarch butterfly on its host plants is chosen as an example of plant-animal coevolution in action. The ability to isolate trace amounts of a substance from plant tissues has led to a wealth of new research, and the fourth edition of this well-known text has consequently been extensively revised. New sections have been provided on the cost of chemical defence and on the release of predator-attracting volatiles from plants. New information has been included on cyanogenesis, the protective role of tannins in plants and the phenomenon of induced defence in plant leaves following herbivory. Advanced level students and research workers aloke will find much of value in this comprehensive text, written by an acknowledged expert on this fascinating subject. - The book covers the biochemistry of interactions between animals, plants and the environment, and includes such diverse subjects as plant adaptations to soil pollutants and the effects of plant toxins on herbivores - The intriguing dependence of the Monarch butterfly on its host plants is chosen as an example of plant-animal coevolution in action - New sections have been added on the cost of chemical defence and on the release of predators attracting volatiles from plants - New information has been included on cyanogenesis, the protective role of tannins in plants and the phenomenon of induced defence in plant leaves following herbivory

Autoren/Hrsg.

Harborne, J. B.

Inhaltsverzeichnis

1;Front Cover;1
2;Introduction to Ecological Biochemistry;4
3;Copyright Page;5
4;Table of Contents;6
5;Foreword;12
6;Preface;14
7;Chapter 1. The Plant and Its Biochemical Adaptation to the Environment;16
7.1;I. Introduction;16
7.2;II. The Biochemical Bases of Adaptation to Climate;20
7.3;III. Biochemical Adaptation to the Soil;32
7.4;IV. Detoxification Mechanisms;41
7.5;V. Conclusion;45
7.6;Bibliography;47
7.7;Literature References;48
8;Chapter 2.
Biochemistry of Plant Pollination;51
8.1;I. Introduction;51
8.2;II. Role of Flower Colour;53
8.3;III. Role of Flower Scent;68
8.4;IV. Role of Nectar and Pollen;75
8.5;V. Summary;82
8.6;Bibliography;83
8.7;Literature References;84
9;Chapter 3. Plant Toxins and Their Effects on Animals;86
9.1;I. Introduction;86
9.2;II.
Different Classes of Plant Toxins;88
9.3;Ill. Cyanogenic Glycosides, Trefoils and Snails;99
9.4;IV. Cardiac Glycosides, Milkweeds, Monarch Butterflies and Blue-Jays;105
9.5;V. Pyrrolizidine Alkaloids, Ragworts, Moths and Butterflies;108
9.6;VI. Utilization of Plant Toxins by Animals;113
9.7;VII. Summary;115
9.8;Bibliography;116
9.9;Literature References;117
10;Chapter 4. Hormonal Interactions Between Plants and Animals;119
10.1;I. Introduction;119
10.2;II. Plant Oestrogens;120
10.3;III. Insect moulting hormones in plants;126
10.4;IV. The Fruit-Fly–Cactus Interaction;129
10.5;V. Insect Juvenile Hormones in Plants;132
10.6;Vl. Pheromonal Interactions and the Pine Bark Beetle;135
10.7;VII. Summary;139
10.8;Bibliography;140
10.9;Literature References;141
11;Chapter 5.
Insect Feeding Preferences;143
11.1;I. Introduction;143
11.2;II. Biochemical Basis of Plant Selection by Insects;145
11.3;III. Secondary Compounds as Feeding Attractants;149
11.4;IV. Secondary Compounds as Feeding Deterrents;157
11.5;V. Feeding of Slugs and Snails;167
11.6;VI. Oviposition Stimulants;170
11.7;Vll. Summary;172
11.8;Bibliography;173
11.9;Literature References;174
12;Chapter 6. Feeding Preferences of Vertebrates, Including Man;177
12.1;I. Introduction;177
12.2;II. Domestic Animals;179
12.3;III. Wild Animals;183
12.4;IV. Birds;187
12.5;V. Man;188
12.6;VI. Conclusion;198
12.7;Bibliography;198
12.8;Literature References;199
13;Chapter 7. The Co-evolutionary Arms Race: Plant Defence and Animal Response;201
13.1;1. Introduction;201
13.2;II. Static Plant Defence;202
13.3;III. Induced Plant Defence;214
13.4;IV. Animal Response;217
13.5;V. Conclusion;222
13.6;Bibliography;222
13.7;Literature References;223
14;Chapter 8. Animal Pheromones and Defence Substances;226
14.1;I. Introduction;226
14.2;II. Insect Pheromones;228
14.3;III. Mammalian Pheromones;237
14.4;IV. Defence Substances;241
14.5;V. Conclusion;253
14.6;Bibliography;254
14.7;Literature References;255
15;Chapter 9. Biochemical Interactions Between Higher Plants;258
15.1;I.
Introduction;258
15.2;II. The Walnut Tree;260
15.3;Ill. Desert Plants;262
15.4;IV. Allelopathy in the Californian Chaparral;264
15.5;V. Other Allelopathic Agents;270
15.6;VI. Ecological Importance of Allelopathy;271
15.7;VII. Biochemistry of Host–Parasite Interactions;273
15.8;VIII. Conclusion;275
15.9;Bibliography;277
15.10;Literature References;277
16;Chapter 10. Higher Plant–Lower Plant Interactions: Phytoalexins and Phytotoxins;279
16.1;I. Introduction;279
16.2;II. Biochemical Basis of Disease Resistance;281
16.3;III. Phytotoxins in Plant Disease;300
16.4;IV. Conclusion;307
16.5;Bibliography;309
16.6;Literature References;310
17;SUBJECT INDEX;313
18;INDEX OF PLANT NAMES;325
19;INDEX OF ANIMAL SPECIES;331

Leseproben

2 Biochemistry of Plant Pollination
Publisher Summary
This chapter describes different biochemical aspects of plant pollination, evolution, role and chemical basis of flower color, honey guides or guide marks, and role of flower scent, nectar and pollen. When insects, bats, and birds visit flowers to feed on or collect for future consumption the nectar and pollen, they usually pollinate the flowers in the process, so that both partners clearly benefit from this mutualistic association. There are three biochemical factors in this interrelationship; scent and color of the flower, and the nutritional value of nectar and pollen. As the pollinator arrives near the plant, it also receives a visual signal, in the contrasting color of the flower against the general green leafy background. As it alights on the flower, it may be drawn to the nectar by visual honey guides on the petal, derived from the differential distribution of pigments within the flower tissue. Finally, as it transfers the pollen from anther to stigma, it gains its reward, a nutritional one, based on the sugar and other constituents of nectar and pollen. The need of a plant to attract animals to visit it for purposes of pollination depends quite naturally on its sexual system and floral structure. There are some groups, such as the grasses, where pollination is by wind and animal visitations to the inflorescences would be superfluous. However, such angiospermous plant groups are relatively few and the majority of plants clearly require animals to achieve their pollination. I Introduction II Role of flower colour A Colour preferences of pollinators B Chemical basis of flower colour C Evolution of flower colour D Honey guides III Role of flower scent A Types of scent B Insect pheromones and flower scents IV Role of nectar and pollen A Sugars of nectar B Amino acids of nectar C Lipids in nectar D Nectar toxins E Extrafloral nectaries F Nutritive value of pollen V Summary Bibliography I Introduction
When insects, bats and birds visit flowers to feed on (or collect for future consumption) the nectar and pollen, they usually pollinate the flowers in the process, so that both partners clearly benefit from this mutualistic association. There are three biochemical factors in this interrelationship; scent and colour of the flower and the nutritional value of nectar and pollen. As a pollinating animal approaches a flowering plant, one of the signals it receives is an olfactory one, from the flower scent. Animals live in a world of chemical communication, of pheromones, and they are undoubtedly able to detect the terpenes and other volatiles of flower odour at some distance. As the pollinator arrives near the plant, it also receives a visual signal, in the contrasting colour of the flower against the general green leafy background. As it alights on the flower, it may be drawn to the nectar by visual honey guides on the petal, derived from the differential distribution of pigments within the flower tissue. Finally, as it transfers the pollen from anther to stigma, it gains its reward, a nutritional one, based on the sugar and other constituents of nectar and pollen. In spite of the great amount written on pollination ecology (e.g. Faegri and van der Pijl, 1979; Kevan and Baker, 1983; Proctor and Yeo, 1973; Real, 1983; Richards, 1978), biochemical aspects have rarely been explored in any detail. The present account is an attempt to gather most of the available information on this ecological topic. The subject of pollination biology is vast, largely because this interaction between plant and animal is such a complex and subtle one and also because almost every group of plants has its own method of attracting pollinators and there are an enormous number of morphological adaptations to the various animal pollinators available to plants. Some brief introduction to the subject is needed here, particularly regarding the range of animal pollinators, the varying roles of animal visitors in relationship to flower pollinating processes and the phenomenon of flower constancy. To the casual observer in a flower garden in temperate latitudes, the pollination of the flowers would largely appear during daylight hours to be the province of the very active bumble and hive bee, with some help being provided by a few smaller insects. This ignores, of course, the much wider range of active pollinators in tropical habitats: the humming birds, an enormous variety of large tropical butterflies, the wasps and the beetles. In addition, some flowers are only pollinated at night by bats or moths. Also, there is occasional pollination by rodents, e.g. by mice and shrews in Protea spp. of South Africa and by bushrats in certain Banksia spp. in Australia. Finally, there are many smaller fauna, different kinds of flies and fleas, some of which are only apparent as pollinators to the most acute observer. The problem of determining which pollinator or pollinators are active on a particular plant species is difficult, requiring much time-consuming observation by the field naturalist. Some animals may visit flowers for other reasons than pollination; also they may be able to ‘steal’ the nectar, without carrying out the pollination necessary to the plant. Ants, for example, are well-known nectar thieves and are often so small that they sneak in and out of blossoms without touching the reproductive organs. They do, however, act as genuine pollinators in some cases. Hickman (1974) has shown that the small self-incompatible annual Polygonum cascadense is cross-pollinated by the ant Formica argentea. Reports of ant-pollinated plant species are, however, still few and far between (see Beattie, 1991). The need of a plant to attract animals to visit it for purposes of pollination depends quite naturally on its sexual system and floral structure. There are some groups, e.g. the grasses, where pollination is by wind and animal visitations to the inflorescences would be superfluous. However, such angiospermous plant groups are relatively few and the majority of plants clearly require animals to achieve their pollination. This is obvious in plants with single sex flowers, particularly those that are dioecious, i.e. where the male and female flowers are on different plants. It is also obvious in self-incompatible hermaphrodite plants, which account for the majority of angiosperms. Self-incompatibility is essentially a system which ensures out-crossing and hence genetic variability and vigour within a plant population. There are immunological barriers to self-pollination and such plants depend on cross-pollination, i.e. insects travelling from flower to flower and unwittingly transferring pollen from the anther of one plant to the stigma of a second, in order to achieve seed set. The evolution of the sexual system in the angiosperms has generally progressed from self-incompatibility to self-compatibility (see Crowe, 1964). However, even in those self-compatible species with large, coloured flowers (e.g. the sweet pea) where the floral morphology is such that self-pollination can occur without animal visitors, it is generally agreed that insects are beneficial in increasing seed set. This may be because pollinators increase the amount of self-pollen transferred to the stigma or because, when cross-pollen is available, it grows faster down the style than self-pollen. At least, the theory that many self-pollinated species still gain an advantage from animal pollinators explains why many such plants continue to produce large and brightly coloured petals and fragrant flower scents which attract bees and other visitors. Finally, there is the phenomenon of flower constancy, a factor of great significance in the co-evolution of angiosperms and their animal partners. It represents the fidelity of a pollinator to regularly visit only a limited number of plant species and in extreme cases, only one. Such fidelity is guided by floral morphology, odour and petal colour. Indeed many plants through evolution of their floral parts have deliberately restricted themselves to pollination by one type of vector so that they have what are called ‘bee-flowers’ (with short, wide corollas), ‘butterfly-flowers’ (with medium-length, narrow corollas) or ‘humming bird-flowers’ (with long, narrow corollas). Animals on their part, within the range of plants they are capable of pollinating, become restrictive and dependent on a small number of species and eventually even a single plant. This may be because of a special blossom fragrance, a richness in nectar or some other lure. This mutual co-evolution has many benefits to both plant and animal. In extreme form, it can be seen in the fig genus, Ficus, where almost every species has its own species of chalcid wasp to pollinate it. Similarly, one finds examples in the Orchidaceae, where...