How a molecular 'alarm' system protects plants from predators

In nature, every species must be equipped with a strategy to survive in response to danger. Plants, too, have innate systems that are triggered in response to a particular threat, such as insects feeding on them. For example, some plants sense herbivore-derived danger signals (HDS), which are specific chemicals in oral secretions of insects. This activates a cascade of events in the plant's defense machinery, which leads to the plant developing resistance to (or immunity against) the predator. But despite decades of research, exactly how plants recognize these signals has remained a mystery.

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