Review abstract
Nature Chemical Biology 3, 408 - 414 (2007)
Published online: 18 June 2007 | doi:10.1038/nchembio.2007.5
The function of terpene natural products in the natural world
Jonathan Gershenzon1 & Natalia Dudareva2
Abstract
As the largest class of natural products, terpenes have a variety of roles in mediating antagonistic and beneficial interactions among organisms. They defend many species of plants, animals and microorganisms against predators, pathogens and competitors, and they are involved in conveying messages to conspecifics and mutualists regarding the presence of food, mates and enemies. Despite the diversity of terpenes known, it is striking how phylogenetically distant organisms have come to use similar structures for common purposes. New natural roles undoubtedly remain to be discovered for this large class of compounds, given that such a small percentage of terpenes has been investigated so far.
- Department of Biochemistry, Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology, Hans-Knöll-Strasse 8, D-07745 Jena, Germany.
- Department of Horticulture and Landscape Architecture, Purdue University, 625 Agriculture Mall Drive, West Lafayette, Indiana 47907, USA.
Correspondence to: Jonathan Gershenzon1 e-mail: gershenzon@ice.mpg.de
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