The Chemistry of Plant Signalling

Abstract

This chapter highlights the contribution that chemical sciences, i.e. analytical and synthetic organic chemistry, has made to the understanding of plant–insect interactions from an ecological perspective. This includes a general overview of the approaches and techniques used in the isolation of natural products that play a role in mediating such interactions and recent examples of the important role that chemical techniques have played. It covers plant-derived signals that are both constitutively produced and those induced in response to defence signalling stimuli, including insect attack. It also includes insect-derived elicitors of plant defence. Finally, future prospects of the role of chemical sciences in plant–insect interaction studies are discussed.