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Allelopathy: Full Circle from Phytotoxicity to Mechanisms of Resistance

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Allelopathy in Sustainable Agriculture and Forestry

Abstract

Recently there have been important strides in decoding the role of allelopathy in ecological invasions. However, in order to truly unlock the potential of allelopathy it is necessary to understand how allelochemicals affect plants on many levels, from their influence on community dynamics to their cellular targets within an individual plant to how modifications of the structure of a chemical can alter its activity. Collaborations between ecologists, chemists, and molecular biologists are now facilitating the elucidation of some of these interactions. Perhaps one of the most recent and well-documented of these interdisciplinary studies of an allelochemical is the research that has been done on (± )-catechin, a phytotoxin produced by Centaurea maculosa. As detailed in this chapter, several ecological, chemical and molecular studies have been conducted in an attempt to clarify the role of this chemical in the invasive success of C. maculosa. Although proof for an ecological role of this phytochemical remains elusive, these studies provide a model for the type of interdisciplinary work that is required to determine the importance of allelopathy in ecology and to manipulate the allelopathic potential of certain plants for weed management in cultivated crops.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Horticulture and Landscape Architecture, Colorado State University of Fort Collins, Fort Collins, Colorado, USA

    Tiffany L. Weir & Jorge M. Vivanco

Authors
  1. Tiffany L. Weir
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  2. Jorge M. Vivanco
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China

    Ren Sen Zeng

  2. Lakehead University, Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada

    Azim U. Mallik

  3. Institute of Tropical & Sub-tropical Ecology, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China

    Shi Ming Luo

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Weir, T.L., Vivanco, J.M. (2008). Allelopathy: Full Circle from Phytotoxicity to Mechanisms of Resistance. In: Zeng, R.S., Mallik, A.U., Luo, S.M. (eds) Allelopathy in Sustainable Agriculture and Forestry. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-77337-7_5

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