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Chemical Ecology Special Feature
CHEMICAL ECOLOGY SPECIAL FEATURE / BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES / RESEARCH ARTICLES / ECOLOGY
The lost origin of chemical ecology in the late 19th century
Institut für Pharmazeutische Biologie der Technischen Universität Braunschweig, Mendelssohnstrasse 1, D-38106 Braunschweig, Germany
Edited by Jerrold Meinwald, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, and approved November 11, 2007 (received for review September 28, 2007)
The origin of plant chemical ecology generally dates to the late 1950s, when evolutionary entomologists recognized the essential role of plant secondary metabolites in plant–insect interactions and suggested that plant chemical diversity evolved under the selection pressure of herbivory. However, similar ideas had already flourished for a short period during the second half of the 19th century but were largely forgotten by the turn of the century. This article presents the observations and studies of three protagonists of chemical ecology: Anton Kerner von Marilaun (1831–1898, Innsbruck, Austria, and Vienna, Austria), who mainly studied the impact of geological, climatic, and biotic factors on plant distribution and survival; Léo Errera (1858–1906, Brussels, Belgium), a plant physiologist who analyzed the localization of alkaloids in plant cells and tissues histochemically; and Ernst Stahl (1848–1919, Jena, Germany), likely the first experimental ecologist and who performed feeding studies with snails and slugs that demonstrated the essential role of secondary metabolites in plant protection against herbivores. All three, particularly Stahl, suggested that these "chemical defensive means" evolved in response to the relentless selection pressure of the heterotrophic community that surrounds plants. Although convincingly supported by observations and experiments, these ideas were forgotten until recently. Now, more than 100 years later, molecular analysis of the genes that control secondary metabolite production underscores just how correct Kerner von Marilaun, Errera, and, particularly, Stahl were in their view. Why their ideas were lost is likely a result of the adamant rejection of all things "teleological" by the physiologists who dominated biological research at the time.
herbivore | historical basis | plant protection | secondary metabolism
This paper was adapted from a keynote lectures presented at the 23rd Annual Meeting of the International Society of Chemical Ecology, Jena, Germany, July, 2007.
The author declares no conflict of interest.
This article is a PNAS Direct Submission.
The term Schutzmittel includes all possible plant protective means, particularly mechanical defenses and protective compounds (Schutzstoffe or Schutzexkrete).
The term "ecology" (Ökologie) was introduced in 1866 by Ernst Haeckel (15), but it only slowly replaced the term "Biologie," which was used in the same sense in the 19th century.
The term "secondary metabolites" was coined by the biochemist Albrecht Kossel (32) in 1891 to characterize cell components that contrast with "primary metabolites" and are not found in any developing cell. The term was adopted by Friedrich Czapek in his Biochemistry of Plants (33) and has been used ever since.
¶ Pfeffer distinguishes between "plastic" and "aplastic" metabolites, which correspond to "primary" and "secondary" metabolites, respectively.
*E-mail: t.hartmann{at}tu-bs.de
© 2008 by The National Academy of Sciences of the USA
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  J. Meinwald and T. Eisner Chemical Ecology Special Feature: Chemical ecology in retrospect and prospect PNAS, March 25, 2008; 105(12): 4539 - 4540. [Full Text] [PDF]
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