plant active defences

Question 1

what is a terpenoid

Answer 1

a range of essential oils with antibacterial and antifungal activities.

Question 2

what is a phenol and give an example

Answer 2

a chemical antibiotic and antifungal properties.
for example, Tannins found in bark inhibit attack by insects- these deactivate enzymes such as digestive enzymes.

Question 3

what are alkaloids

Answer 3

nitrogen containing compounds giving a bitter taste to inhibit herbivores
e.g nicotine, caffiene, morphine.

Question 4

what are defensive proteins

Answer 4

these are small cysteine rich proteins which have broad anti-microbial activity.

Question 5

what are hydrolytic enzymes

Answer 5

found in spaces between cells
e.g. chitinase and lysosomes

Question 6

what are the 5 chemical defenses

Answer 6

alkaloids
defencive proteins
phenol
terpenoid
hydrolytic enzyme

Question 7

what is a canker

Answer 7

a sunken necrotic lesion in the woody tissue such as the main stem or branch. killing the cambium tissue in the bark.

Question 8

what is necrosis

Answer 8

deliberate cell suicide. few cells are sacrificed to save the rest of the plant by killing cells surrounding the infection