16.3 Plant Responses to Herbivory Flashcards
1
Q
What are the physical defences of plants?
A
- thorns
- spiny/hairy leaves
- spikes
- inedible tissue
2
Q
What are the chemical defences of plants?
A
- tannins
- alkaloids
- terpenoids
- pheromones
3
Q
How do tannins defend plants?
A
bitter
toxic to insects - bind to digestive enzymes & inactivate
4
Q
How do alkaloids defend plants?
A
act as drugs, affecting metabolism + poisoning organism
5
Q
How do terpenoids defend plants?
A
insect repellants/toxins
6
Q
How do pheromones defend plants?
A
pheromones released by maple tree being attacked by insects
release of pheromones causes neighbouring leaves to produce callose
increases defence against insects
7
Q
Plant responses to herbivory
What are VOCs?
A
volatile organic compounds
similar to pheromones, but facilitate communication between organisms (rather than within different parts of an organism)
- apple trees produce VOCs which attract predatory mites when attacked by spider mites
- wheat seedlings produce VOCs to repel aphids
