Production of mustard oils: On the origin of an enzyme

Thursday, March 17, 2011 - 14:50 in Biology & Nature

Plants are continually exposed to herbivore attack. To defend themselves, they have developed sophisticated chemical defence mechanisms. Plants of the mustard family, such as thale cress (Arabidopsis thaliana), produce glucosinolates (mustard oil glucosides) to protect themselves against herbivory. Scientists know many different kinds of these molecules; they have a similar structure, but different side chains. If insect larvae feed on mustard plants, glucosinolates are hydrolysed to form toxic isothiocyanates. Chemists call this the 'mustard oil bomb'...

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