Preface
This book is like a dream project putting together metabolic aspect of complex
biological processes like pollination, symbiosis, herbivory by insects, and volatiles
released by plants in their atmosphere. Most of these processes are very complex and
produce very small amount of metabolites, which remains a challenging task to
detect and quantify. Though the chemistry and biosynthesis of secondary metabolites
is increasingly well studied, less attention is paid to their evolutionary and interactive
aspect. Almost all plants are attacked by insect herbivores, pests, and animals and
they cannot escape from being non-movable unlike animals. Therefore, they evolve
and conserve several defensive traits to combat pests by various types of chemical
weapons. Improvement in tools of chemical analysis like GLC, HPLC with sensitive
sensors and detectors such as mass spectrometer, and high-throughput screening
along with gene expression using transcriptome analysis paved the way for analyzing, detecting, and identifying these molecules, small or large, in quantities
unnoticeable with old prevailing technology.
Therefore, this book presents state of information about secondary metabolites
produced in plants during interaction with parasites, pollinators, pests, and herbivores. As secondary metabolites are specialized classes of compounds
biosynthesized by different pathways involving several genes, this is an interesting
evolutionary mechanism to adapt to the changing host or the pests by modifying the
secondary metabolites. Secondary metabolites play a crucial fundamental biological
role in a plant’s life, and genetic changes are required to execute the energyexpensive process.
The book Co-evolution of Secondary Metabolites is divided into six parts covering the entire gamut of bioactive molecules present in plants. This includes phenomena like diversity within plant, changes in secondary metabolites during
adaptation of plants to life on land, and involvement of secondary metabolites in
pollination, allelochemy, abiotic stress, host–parasite interaction, sensory perception, insect–plant interaction, and plant defense. These interactions are vital for
survival of plants and their pests and have evolutionary consequence.
This book is planned as a reference work providing state-of-the-art knowledge
composed by highly renowned scientists of the field. Well-recognized international
specialists in their respective fields of research contributed the chapters. This book
will be useful to all those working in the field of botany, evolutionary biology,
v
This book is like a dream project putting together metabolic aspect of complex
biological processes like pollination, symbiosis, herbivory by insects, and volatiles
released by plants in their atmosphere. Most of these processes are very complex and
produce very small amount of metabolites, which remains a challenging task to
detect and quantify. Though the chemistry and biosynthesis of secondary metabolites
is increasingly well studied, less attention is paid to their evolutionary and interactive
aspect. Almost all plants are attacked by insect herbivores, pests, and animals and
they cannot escape from being non-movable unlike animals. Therefore, they evolve
and conserve several defensive traits to combat pests by various types of chemical
weapons. Improvement in tools of chemical analysis like GLC, HPLC with sensitive
sensors and detectors such as mass spectrometer, and high-throughput screening
along with gene expression using transcriptome analysis paved the way for analyzing, detecting, and identifying these molecules, small or large, in quantities
unnoticeable with old prevailing technology.
Therefore, this book presents state of information about secondary metabolites
produced in plants during interaction with parasites, pollinators, pests, and herbivores. As secondary metabolites are specialized classes of compounds
biosynthesized by different pathways involving several genes, this is an interesting
evolutionary mechanism to adapt to the changing host or the pests by modifying the
secondary metabolites. Secondary metabolites play a crucial fundamental biological
role in a plant’s life, and genetic changes are required to execute the energyexpensive process.
The book Co-evolution of Secondary Metabolites is divided into six parts covering the entire gamut of bioactive molecules present in plants. This includes phenomena like diversity within plant, changes in secondary metabolites during
adaptation of plants to life on land, and involvement of secondary metabolites in
pollination, allelochemy, abiotic stress, host–parasite interaction, sensory perception, insect–plant interaction, and plant defense. These interactions are vital for
survival of plants and their pests and have evolutionary consequence.
This book is planned as a reference work providing state-of-the-art knowledge
composed by highly renowned scientists of the field. Well-recognized international
specialists in their respective fields of research contributed the chapters. This book
will be useful to all those working in the field of botany, evolutionary biology,
v